In a statement on Saturday, Guterres’s spokesperson said the Russian strikes “disrupted the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, once again underlining the ongoing risks to nuclear safety”.
“The secretary-general is alarmed by this dangerous escalation and the growing number of civilian casualties,” the statement read.
Ukrainian officials said Moscow fired more than 500 drones and 11 missiles at the capital Kyiv overnight into Friday in an attack that killed one person, injured at least 23 others and damaged buildings across the city.
The sounds of air raid sirens, kamikaze drones and booming detonations reverberated until dawn.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack “deliberately massive and cynical”.
Russia has been stepping up its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities as United States-led efforts to reach a ceasefire to end the war have stalled.
The attacks come as Ukraine’s Zelensky stated on Friday that he had a “very important and fruitful” phone conversation with US President Donald Trump in his efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences.
The US president also spoke to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a day earlier in a conversation that he said was disappointing.
“I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don’t think he’s there, and I’m very disappointed,” Trump said after the call on Thursday.
“I’m just saying I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad,” he added.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Friday that it was “preferable” to achieve the goals of Russia’s invasion through political and diplomatic means.
“But as long as that is not possible, we are continuing the special operation,” he added.
