UNSC to hold emergency meeting over massive Russian attacks on Ukraine on May 19

An urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council in response to the sharp escalation of Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure will take place on Tuesday, May 19.

This was reported to an Ukrinform correspondent by the Security Council secretariat.

Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN Andrii Melnyk requested the urgent convening of the meeting due to the massive attacks on Ukraine. He sent an official letter to China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Fu Cong, as China holds the presidency of the Security Council in May.

In the document, Melnyk noted that between May 4 and May 11, Russian forces used about 600 strike drones and 16 ballistic missiles against Ukrainian cities and communities. More than 40 civilians were killed and over 200 others were injured as a result of these attacks.

He said May 5 was “one of the deadliest days for civilians in recent months of Russia’s war of destruction against the Ukrainian nation,” with deaths reported in Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk, Dnipro, and the Poltava region.

Melnyk emphasized that the attacks occurred just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a ceasefire proposal and called on Russia to take “real steps toward ending the war of aggression.”

Ignoring this call, Russian forces continued attacks on civilian infrastructure, he said.

The envoy stressed that systematic Russian strikes on civilians constitute a “flagrant and serious violation of international humanitarian law” and in many cases amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He also noted that Russia continued drone attacks even during a declared May 9–11 ceasefire period following a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump.

On the battlefield and in frontline communities, the ceasefire was not observed in practice.

Melnyk further said that in the morning of May 13, Russia launched more than 800 drones at Ukraine, killing at least eight civilians and injuring dozens more, including children.

“Through these actions, Russia has once again demonstrated its deliberate choice of escalation and terror instead of diplomacy,” the letter stated.

Read also: Ukraine urges UN to condemn Russian terror attack on humanitarian convoy in Kherson region

As previously reported, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also initiated a UN Security Council meeting in response to Russia’s killing of civilians.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 731 aerial attack assets, including cruise and ballistic missiles as well as jet-powered drones, during a nighttime assault. The main target of the strike was Kyiv, where a day of mourning was declared on May 15 for those killed in the May 14 attack.