WCC denounces Russian missile strikes on civilians and hospitals in Ukraine
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay denounced the missile strikes on Kyiv and other densely populated areas of Ukraine, which killed at least 34 people, and which severely damaged two of the country’s main hospitals for children and women, including the country’s largest paediatrics facility.
“It is” said Pillay “the latest significant incident in which disregard for international humanitarian law has been evident.”
Pillay emphasized that all those who target civilians and civilian infrastructure do so in violation of the most fundamental principles of law, ethics, morals, and religion. “In this brutal war resulting from Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, civilians are suffering the consequences every day” he said, noting that a recent UN report states that from March to May this year alone 436 civilians were killed and 1760 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine. However he observed that civilians in Russia are also suffering the consequences of this “unconscionable conflict”. “To prevent more bloodshed and destruction, all such violations must stop, and the war must end.”