BRUSSELS

France on Monday strongly condemned what it described as an "increasing number of Russian attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure" in Ukraine, calling them "deliberate" violations of international humanitarian law.

In a statement, the French Foreign Ministry said Russia carried out a series of attacks in recent days, including a strike on a passenger train in Kharkiv on Jan. 27 that killed five people, an attack on a bus carrying mine workers in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region on Feb. 1 that left 16 people dead, and a strike on a maternity hospital in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Earlier Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on US social media company X that there were new Russian attacks on energy facilities in frontline and border communities during the past day.

"No military aim can justify such atrocities, which constitute further deliberate breaches by Russia of its obligation to respect international humanitarian law," the ministry said, adding that the attacks constitute "deliberate" breaches of Russia's obligations under international humanitarian law.

The ministry said repeated strikes on Ukraine's railway network show Russia's intention to destroy civilian infrastructure and form part of what it described as a broader "terror approach," similar to attacks targeting the country's energy grid.

"These cynical strikes on civilians constitute war crimes. They are a brutal reminder that Russia has embarked on an approach geared to escalation, and their increasing frequency highlights the deliberate nature of Russia's targeting," the statement said.

It added that Russia's announcement of a pause in strikes on energy infrastructure in Kyiv following the discussions in Abu Dhabi appears to be a "delaying tactic aimed at rejecting a comprehensive ceasefire and negotiations conducted in good faith."

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he “personally asked” his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin not to fire on Kyiv and various Ukrainian cities amid “extreme cold” weather for a week.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had confirmed that Trump asked Putin to halt strikes in Ukraine until Feb. 1, but declined to say whether the Russian president agreed to the request.