U.N., Red Cross call for protecting civilians, vital structures in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer visits a children's hospital, which is under reconstruction in the rebel-controlled town of Horlivka (Gorlovka) near Donetsk, Ukraine, November 6, 2020. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - Civilians and critical infrastructure such as water and power systems in Ukraine must be protected from attacks in line with the rules of war, United Nations and Red Cross officials said on Thursday as aid agencies struggled to assess damage from Russia's attack.

Ukrainian forces fought Russian invaders around nearly all of the country's perimeter after Russia launched an assault by land, sea and air on Ukraine in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two.