Russia surprised by UN silence on Ukraine attack on Belgorod

“We are surprised by the silence of the Secretary-General on this issue,” Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said in his speech at the Security Council meeting on the Belgorod attack.

On the afternoon of December 30 (New York time), at Russia's request, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss Ukraine's attack on Russia.

The Russian Permanent Representative added that Ukraine's shelling of peaceful cities showed the cruelty of the Zelensky government. And Moscow affirmed that it would punish all the organizers and perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Belgorod.

Belgorod, a Russian city of 300,000 people located about 40km from the Ukrainian border, has been repeatedly targeted by shelling by Ukrainian forces, Moscow said.

According to Mr. Nebenzya, the targets of the attack were a sports center, an ice rink and a university.

As of December 31, according to Ria Novosti, the incident has killed 21 people, including 3 children; 110 people were injured; 30 apartment buildings and a number of social facilities including schools and kindergartens were damaged. A criminal case has been opened in Russia on charges of “intentional murder”, “murder”, “intentional destruction/damage to property”.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces used Vilkha missile systems carrying cluster bombs to attack the city of Belgorod. The Russian military's air defense systems intercepted most of the targets. However, some of the fired Vilkha missiles and missile parts fell in the city of Belgorod.

In contrast, Ukraine is accusing Russia of carrying out heavy airstrikes on Kiev and Kharkov.