MOSCOW —?On Saturday, Russian authorities reported a Ukrainian attack on the city of Belgorod that resulted in the killing of at least 20 people and injured more than 110 others, in what would be the deadliest single assault against a Russian city since the start of the war nearly two years ago.

Russian officials stated that Ukraine used cluster munitions, harming innocent civilians, and warned that they would take action in response. Russia's defence ministry promised to retaliate.?

The ministry stated, “This crime will not go unpunished,” as reported by the New York Times.

The attack on Belgorod is seen as retaliation for ongoing rocket and drone strikes by Russian forces on Ukrainian cities. The Belgorod attack came a day after Ukraine reported Russian missile strikes on several cities, resulting in at least 40 deaths and numerous injuries.

Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky are due to give New Year’s Eve speeches on Sunday, as the war between the two countries approaches its second anniversary in February.

Russia's foreign ministry had also called for a United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the attack.

Security Council holds emergency meeting on attacks in Belgorod

In response to the reported attacks on Belgorod, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Saturday, to address the situation. Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General in the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UN DPPA), briefed the Council on the latest developments.?

“We unequivocally condemn all attacks on cities, town?and villages, in Ukraine and in the Russian Federation,” Mr. Khiari said. “Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law, are unacceptable and must end now”.

He said that even as the Council meets today, reports of new air raid alerts were also coming in from across Ukraine, including in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Cherkasy, Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Indeed, just a few hours ago, the city of Kharkiv was reportedly attacked, resulting in civilians injured and civilian infrastructure damaged, he said.