海角大神

Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion of Ukraine has triggered 鈥渢he most massive violations of human rights鈥� in the world today, the head of the United Nations said Monday, as the war pushed into its second year with no end in sight and tens of thousands dead.

The Russian invasion 鈥渉as unleashed widespread death, destruction, and displacement,鈥� U.N. Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres said in a speech to the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council in Geneva.

After failing to capture Kyiv in the opening weeks of the invasion on Feb. 24 last year and suffering a series of humiliating setbacks during the fall, Russia has stabilized the front and is concentrating its efforts on capturing four provinces that Moscow illegally annexed in September 鈥� Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine, meanwhile, hopes to use battle tanks and other new weapons pledged by the West to launch new counteroffensives and reclaim more of the occupied territory.

Mr. Guterres said, 鈥渁ttacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure have caused many casualties and terrible suffering.鈥�

The intense fighting for territory in eastern Ukraine was in sharp focus Sunday at a Ukrainian field hospital treating wounded from the intense battle for the city of Bakhmut, which is devastated. A constant flow of battered and exhausted soldiers came in on stretchers.

Anatoliy, the chief of the medical service, said his team treats dozens of soldiers every day and barely has time to eat.

鈥淢y medics work practically nonstop. Before the full-scale invasion we had 50-60 wounded in a nine-month rotation, and now sometimes we have more [than that] in one day,鈥� he told The Associated Press. He provided only one name for security reasons.

Mr. Guterres鈥� remarks came as the Ukrainian military said that Russia launched attacks with exploding drones on several regions of the country from late Sunday until Monday morning, killing two people.

Mr. Guterres cited cases of sexual violence, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and violations of the rights of prisoners of war documented by the U.N. human rights office.

He decried how the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, now 75 years old, has been 鈥渢oo often misused and abused.鈥�

鈥淚t is exploited for political gain, and it is ignored, often, by the very same people,鈥� Mr. Guterres said. 鈥淪ome governments chip away at it. Others use a wrecking ball.鈥�

鈥淭his is a moment to stand on the right side of history,鈥� he told the council, the U.N.鈥檚 top human rights body. Russia withdrew from its seat last year amid a surge in international pressure over the war in Ukraine.

Dozens of high-level envoys at the Geneva meeting 鈥� many from Western countries 鈥� lashed out at Russia over its conduct of the war. At the simultaneous Conference on Disarmament, another U.N.-backed body, delegates criticized President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 decision to suspend Russia鈥檚 participation in the New START agreement with the United States, the last nuclear arms control agreement between Moscow and Washington.

Russia was not represented at the council, and its top envoy to the session wasn鈥檛 expected to speak until Thursday.

Russian officials have shown little sign they may be reconsidering their attack on their neighbor, however.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 seeing any conditions for a peaceful settlement now.鈥�

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia鈥檚 Security Council that is chaired by Mr. Putin, went a step further, once again raising the specter of nuclear war and a nightmare outcome to Europe鈥檚 biggest and deadliest conflict since World War II.

He chided the U.S. and its allies for providing Ukraine with military and other support to help push back the Kremlin鈥檚 forces. Their longer-term aim, he claimed, is to break up Russia.

鈥淭hey have crazy illusions that after finishing off the Soviet Union without a single shot they could bury today鈥檚 Russia without any significant problems for themselves simply by disposing of thousands of lives in the conflict,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very dangerous mistake, it won鈥檛 work like it did with the Soviet Union.鈥�

Mr. Putin has also framed the war in those terms, saying it鈥檚 an existential risk to Russia.

In the Sunday to Monday attacks, Ukraine鈥檚 General Staff said Kyiv鈥檚 forces shot down 11 out of 14 Iranian-made Shahed drones.

Ukraine鈥檚 presidential office said Monday that at least two civilians were killed and nine others wounded by Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours.

It said intense fighting has continued around Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Vuhledar in the Donetsk region, which has come under relentless Russian shelling.

Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said the Russian offensive aimed at securing control of eastern Ukraine has effectively become bogged down while losing 鈥渉uge numbers of weapons and ammunition.鈥�

Mr. Zhdanov said the Ukrainian military, in turn, is building up forces for a future counteroffensive in the south while pummeling Russian positions and depots there.

鈥淯kraine has significantly intensified the shelling of Russian positions in the south, destroying roads and depots, which is an important condition for the success of a future counteroffensive,鈥� he said.

In other developments, the Russian military claimed its forces struck an electronic intelligence center near Brovary, just east of Kyiv.

Russia鈥檚 Defense Ministry also said that Russian forces struck a special operations center of the Ukrainian armed forces near the western city of Khmelnytskyi.

The ministry didn鈥檛 say when the strikes were launched, and its claim couldn鈥檛 be independently verified.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.