Ukraine war briefing: Putin accused of ‘reckless nuclear brinkmanship’ in Oreshnik missile strike on Kyiv
The head of the World Health Organization said its offices in Kyiv had been damaged by debris from Russian strikes, “damaging windows on the third floor”. “This building is home to many UN agencies besides WHO. No one got injured,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
The German foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, joined the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in condemning the latest Russian attacks and described the use of an Oreshnik ballistic missile as “another escalation”. The UK foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “Moscow’s escalating assault on Ukrainian civilians betrays its weakness.” Cooper described scenes from Kyiv as “awful”.
Macron has warned the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, a key Russian ally, against any involvement in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, a source close to the French president said. The warning was made during the first reported phone call between the two leaders since the early days of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, partly launched from Belarusian territory. Macron “stressed the risks for Belarus of allowing itself to be drawn into Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. “He also urged Alexander Lukashenko to take the necessary steps to improve relations between Belarus and Europe,” the source added, according to Agence France-Presse.
