Russian strikes in Ukraine after UN vote condemning annexation of four regions

Russia has reportedly targeted the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv and the region around the capital, Kyiv, after the United Nations General Assembly condemned Moscow's attempted annexation of four Ukrainian areas and Ukraine’s allies committed more military aid.

United Nations Ambassador from Ukraine, Sergiy Kyslytsya, uses binoculars at the UN General Assembly before it voted on a resolution condemning Russia's annexing parts of Ukraine, 12 October 2022. © Bebeto Matthews/AP

"A five-storey residential building was hit, the two upper floors were completely destroyed, the rest – under rubble. Rescuers are working on the site,” Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said on the Telegram messaging app, adding the southern city was "massively shelled".

The city has suffered heavy Russian bombardments throughout the war.

Meanwhile, the Governor of the Kyiv region, Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram that areas had been hit by Iranian-made loitering munitions, known as 'kamikaze drones', without giving precise details of where was hit.

The attacks come as the three-quarters of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly voted on Wednesday in favour of a resolution that called Moscow's annexation of four partially-occupied regions in Ukraine - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – illegal.

Four countries joined Russia in voting against the resolution - Syria, Nicaragua, North Korea and Belarus.

Thirty-five countries abstained, including Russia's strategic partner China, while the rest did not vote.

The General Assembly vote followed a veto by Russia last month of a similar resolution in the 15-member Security Council.

Earlier Wednesday, more than 50 Western countries met in Brussels to pledge more military aid to Ukraine, especially air defence weapons, following heavy retaliatory strikes by Russia in response to an explosion on a bridge in Crimea.

Pledges from allies included an announcement by France that it would deliver radar and air defence systems.

"We're going to deliver... radars, systems and missiles to protect them from these attacks," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a television interview Wednesday evening, adding that France was also negotiating to send another six Caesar mobile artillery units.

It was not immediately clear whether the weapons promised by Macron were part of the commitment made in Brussels or separate.

Macron also called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to resume diplomatic negotiations with Kyiv.

(with Reuters)