'Now Is the Time': Blinken Rallies U.N. After Russian Strikes on Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the U.N.'s Charter is "at stake" as he slammed Russia for launching a series of simultaneous missile strikes that blasted 14 cities across Ukraine on Monday morning.

The attacks, which also targeted the capital Kyiv for the first time in months, were timed to hit just as residents were heading to school and work. The strikes killed at least 19 people and injured 105, also disrupting electricity in several regions.

In a blistering statement on Monday, Blinken urged leaders to set aside "claims of neutrality" and to speak out in support of Ukraine, which has been fighting against the aggression of Russian President Vladimir Putin since he invaded the country in February.

Monday's bombardment saw "wave after wave of missiles" striking targets "without military purpose", including children's playgrounds, Blinken added. And he said the U.N.'s Charter—its founding document signed in 1945 to maintain international peace—is under threat.

"Russia's attacks are yet another reminder that its war against Ukraine presents a profound moral issue. No person of conscience—and no country of principle—could be unmoved by the devastation of these horrors. Ukraine, like every other country around the world, has the right to choose its own future and live peacefully inside its own internationally recognized borders," he said.

"These strikes can break neither Ukraine's spirit nor our resolve to support Ukraine. The United States will continue to provide vital economic, humanitarian, and security assistance so Ukraine can defend itself and take care of its people.

"The international community has a responsibility to make clear that President Putin's actions are completely unacceptable. Now is the time to speak out in support for Ukraine; it is not the time for abstentions, placating words, or equivocations under claims of neutrality. The core principles of the U.N. Charter are at stake," he added.

Newsweek has reached out to Russia's Foreign Ministry for reaction to Blinken's comments.

The U.N. convened an emergency special session of the General Assembly on Monday, an event that had already been scheduled but became of paramount importance as it became clear that Russia's attacks that day had apparently targeted civilian areas. The members debated a resolution condemning Russia's invasion and the annexation of territory.

In words that would later be echoed by Blinken, Ukraine's ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, said Russia's illegal annexation of territory poses an "existential threat" to the U.N. Charter itself. While the General Assembly's president, Hungarian Csaba Korosi, added: "The U.N. charter is clear; invading a neighbor is illegal."

The multiple missile strikes across Ukraine on Monday came after Putin vowed revenge against the country, as he accused Ukrainian special forces of being behind the destruction of a strategically important supply route.

An explosion on Saturday took out the Kerch bridge, which linked Russia to Crimea and had been crucial for the invaders to transport troops and equipment to the frontlines. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the bridge attack, but officials there admitted they feared an escalation of hostilities after the humiliating setback for Putin, who had personally opened the road section of the bridge in a ceremony in 2018 after seizing and annexing the Ukrainian province of Crimea four years earlier.

Addressing Monday's attacks, Putin appeared on television and directly referenced the destruction of the bridge, while alleging there had been other unspecified attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. He said: "To leave such acts without a response is simply impossible."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to his Telegram social media account and said of Russia: "They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth." He added the forces had targeted people sleeping in the city of Zaporizhzhia before trying to "kill people on their way to work in Dnipro and Kyiv."

Social media videos show terrified Ukrainians feeling for cover on Monday as missiles shrieked overhead, while footage posted online of the aftermath shows ruined buildings with shattered windows, burned-out cars and fires raging in the street.