UK and France condemn Russian attacks on ships in Black Sea at UN
The United Kingdom and France condemned Russian attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea during a meeting of the UN Security Council.
Sarah MacIntosh, the United Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the UN, made the statement at the Security Council meeting on Monday, Censor.NET reports.
Allies strongly condemn Russia’s actions
"Russia is on track to launch more than 300 missiles at Ukraine in July, a grim record for this war," MacIntosh said.
She recalled that on 19 July, three cruise missiles struck a vessel carrying grain from Odesa, killing ten civilians. She also said that further Russian attacks on 24 July killed and injured civilians in Kyiv and damaged the building of Latvia’s honorary consulate in Sloviansk.
MacIntosh also drew attention to Russian drones violating Romanian airspace.
Threat to global food security
France’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jérôme Bonnafont, said that Russia’s attacks had serious consequences for global food security.
According to him, Russia is deliberately targeting Odesa’s port infrastructure, grain vessels in the Black Sea and a World Food Programme warehouse in Dnipro. These attacks not only cause civilian casualties but also put millions of people worldwide at risk, particularly in Africa and the Middle East.
The British side also noted that Russia’s economic situation was deteriorating. In particular, compensation payments to the families of fallen soldiers are rising, the economy is slowing, and the budget deficit is growing.
France stressed that it would continue to support Ukraine.
Earlier, the UN reported that Russian air attacks in Ukraine had killed more than 170 civilians and injured another 1,028 since the beginning of July.
