Ukraine More than 14,000 civilians killed and Guterres "deeply regrets" the division of the Security Council

A report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that the Russian military attack on Ukraine killed 1,480 civilians, and displaced more than 4 million civilians to neighboring countries. The Secretary-General of the United Nations also expressed his deep regret over the divisions of the Security Council over Ukraine.

The United Nations said that the Russian attack on Ukraine killed 1,480 civilians and wounded 2,195 others.

This came in a report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, regarding the outcome of the Russian military attack on Ukraine between February 24 and April 4.

The report indicated that 4,244,595 Ukrainian civilians sought refuge in neighboring countries, more than half of them went to Poland.

He pointed out that Poland received 2,469,657 Ukrainian refugees, Romania 648,410 refugees, Moldova 396,448 refugees, Hungary 394,728 refugees, and Slovakia 310,405 refugees.

He pointed out that 113,000 Ukrainians from the Lugansk and Donetsk regions went to Russia between February 21 and 23.

The International Organization for Migration reported that 7.1 million people were displaced inside Ukraine.

Guterres expresses his "deep regret"

For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed his deep regret over the divisions that have prevented the Security Council from acting on Ukraine, and other threats to international peace and security.

This came during a session of the UN Security Council currently being held at the UN headquarters in New York, to discuss the mounting evidence of war crimes in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, and UN Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths are expected to participate in the session via video link.

The UN Security Council is composed of 5 permanent member states that have the right of veto, namely the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France, in addition to 10 non-permanent member states that are elected periodically every two years.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian army published pictures of corpses scattered on the sidewalks of the city of Bucha, on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, after the withdrawal of Russian forces from it.

And on Sunday, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General Irina Vinestova announced that 410 bodies of civilians had been found in the city of Bucha, after it had recently been recaptured.

In his speech, Guterres urged the council to "do everything in its power to end the war and mitigate its impact, both on the people of Ukraine, and on developing countries around the world."

He said, "We are dealing with a comprehensive invasion of a member state of the United Nations (Ukraine) carried out by another state, (the Russian Federation), in violation of the Charter of the United Nations, to achieve several goals, including redrawing the internationally recognized borders between the two countries."

He continued, "I will never forget the horrific images of civilians killed in Bucha... I immediately called for an independent investigation to ensure effective accountability, and I am deeply shocked by the personal testimonies of rape and sexual violence that are now emerging."

Guterres referred to "the severe damage to the global economy, as 74 developing countries (1.2 billion people) are suffering from high costs of food, energy and fertilizers."

He stressed the need for "the war in Ukraine to stop now... We need serious negotiations for peace, based on the principles of the United Nations Charter."

"We are already witnessing the transition of some countries from a state of vulnerability to a crisis (stage), and signs of serious social unrest," he added.

On February 24, Russia launched a military attack on Ukraine, which was followed by angry international reactions and the imposition of "tough" economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.