UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th July, 2023) UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has condemned the Russian missile strike in the Odesa area, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry dismissed Kiev's claims that a Russian missile strike hit the Transfiguration Cathedral in the port city of Odesa in southern Ukraine, stressing that all intended targets were located at a safe distance from the Orthodox cathedral. The ministry said that the cathedral likely sustained damage due to the fall of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft guided missile as a result of erroneous actions of the operators of Ukrainian air defense systems, which Ukrainian forces had deliberately placed in residential areas.
Dujarric said on Sunday that the UN "Secretary-General strongly condemns the Russian missile attack today on Odesa that resulted in civilian casualties and damaged the UNESCO-protected Transfiguration Cathedral and other historical buildings in the Historic Centre of Odesa, a World Heritage site."
The Secretary General called for an immediate cessation of all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and said that since February 2022, UNESCO has verified damage to 270 cultural sites in Ukraine, including 116 religious sites.
The Russian defense ministry stressed on Sunday that Russia's plans to strike Ukrainian military and terrorist infrastructure draw on thoroughly verified and cross-checked information, "deliberately avoiding striking civilian facilities" as well as cultural and historical heritage sites.
The ministry said that the Russian Armed Forces launched an overnight missile strike on facilities that manufactured and prepared drone boats near Odesa, where foreign mercenaries were also present.
