U.N.’s Guterres ‘deeply concerned’ by Moscow plan for Kyiv strikes

May 26 (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday he was “deeply concerned” by Russia’s announcement that it plans to launch strikes against Ukrainian defense enterprises and decision-making centers in Kyiv.

Guterres made the remarks to the United Nations Security Council after Moscow said on Monday that it intended to mount such strikes, one day after one of its heaviest bombardments of the city since the Russia-Ukraine war began.

Guterres said the Russian announcement followed reports of a Ukrainian drone attack on a college building and dormitory in the Ukrainian city of Starobilsk, presently controlled by Russia.

“We condemned the attack on the school – as we condemn all attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur,” he said.

“Now more than ever, it is imperative to avoid any escalation of a conflict that has already exacted a devastating toll on civilians, and that risks making the search for peace even more distant, prolonging the suffering of people,” Guterres added.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Simon Lewis; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Keith Weir)