NEW YORK, Oct 6 —The head of the United Nations "strongly condemns” a Russian strike that killed at least 51 people gathered for a wake in an eastern Ukrainian village, his spokesman said Thursday.

"Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law, and they must stop immediately,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was "shocked and saddened” by the attack, in a message posted by his office on X, formerly Twitter.

"Our human rights monitors will visit the site to gather information. Accountability is key,” he added.

The victims, including a child, were killed yesterday in Groza, a small village in eastern Ukraine.

Groza is located more than 30 kilometres from the frontline town of Kupiansk in an area where Russian forces have been pushing to recapture territory they lost to Ukrainian troops last year. — AFP