\u201cAs we are facing renewed escalation on the ground and crisis elsewhere, it is critical to maintain focused attention on the urgent need for peace in Ukraine,\u201d said UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jen\u010da \u2013 one of two senior officials briefing the ambassadors.<\/p>\n
In the three weeks since the Council\u00a0last met on Ukraine, Russia has carried out unrelenting large-scale attacks on cities and towns, resulting in a significant rise in civilian casualties.<\/p>\n
Deadly Kyiv attack<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n A combined drone and missile attack on the capital Kyiv overnight on 16-17 June was one of the deadliest there in a year<\/a>. At least 28 civilians were killed and more than 130 injured. Many others are still reported missing under the rubble of the 35 apartments destroyed that night.<\/p>\n Attacks also reportedly occurred in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kyiv provinces that same night, with two civilians reportedly killed and scores injured in Odesa.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese levels of death and destruction risk dimming hope for an immediate ceasefire and threaten to undermine prospects for a lasting peace,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Dramatic increase\u2019 in casualties<\/strong><\/p>\n Data from the UN human rights office, OHCHR<\/a>, reveals that at least 13,438 civilians, including 713 children, have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Another 33,270 civilians have been injured, including over 2,000 children.<\/p>\n The number of civilian casualties in the first five months of this year alone totaled 5,144 \u2013 nearly 50 per cent higher than in the same period in 2024. Of this number, 859 were killed and 4,285 injured.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis dramatic increase is a result of intensified use of long-range weapons, both missiles and loitering munitions, against cities across Ukraine,\u201d said Mr. Jen\u010da.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ukrainian authorities report that between 1 and 17 June, Russian forces launched at least 3,340 long-range drones, including loitering munitions and decoy drones, and 135 missiles into the country. This compares to 544 long-range munitions launched during the whole of June 2024.<\/p>\n Attacks reported in Russia<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Escalating violence also continues to be reported in Russian regions that border Ukraine, though at a far lower level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In the Kursk region, a woman died in hospital a day after being injured in a Ukrainian drone attack while a man was killed, and five others injured, in a strike on a recreational centre. The UN was not able to verify these reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLet me once again unequivocally state \u2013 attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law, wherever they occur,\u201d said Mr. Jen\u010da, reiterating the UN\u2019s condemnation.<\/p>\n Diplomatic developments welcomed<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, \u201cimportant diplomatic developments have taken place on the challenging path towards a lasting peace in Ukraine.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their second face-to-face meeting in Istanbul on 2 June.\u00a0 They reportedly exchanged written memoranda outlining their respective visions for a ceasefire and parameters for a future peace settlement.\u00a0<\/p>\n The sides also reached agreement for the large-scale exchange of prisoners of war, mortal remains and civilian detainees. Swaps have been carried out since then, with the latest round taking place earlier on Friday. The mortal remains of 6,057 Ukrainian and 78 Russian servicepersons also have been returned as of 16 June.<\/p>\n \u201cWe welcome the continuation of all meaningful diplomatic efforts, including the recent talks in Istanbul. We urge the sides to make tangible progress towards a ceasefire and a lasting settlement through continued talks,\u201d said Mr. Jen\u010da.<\/p>\n In the face of escalation, he called for redoubling efforts \u201cto ensure that the fragile diplomatic process is not only sustained but becomes irreversible.\u201d<\/p>\n Civilians bear the brunt<\/strong><\/p>\n In the meantime, civilians continue to bear the severe consequences of the war, said<\/a> Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cAs the war continues, millions of lives are impacted every day. Essential\u00a0\u00a0services are disrupted, and vulnerabilities are deepening for nearly 13\u00a0million people in need of assistance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Roughly 3.7 million people are displaced inside Ukraine, including 60,000 newly displaced from frontline regions since January alone. Almost six million citizens are now refugees, mainly in Europe.<\/p>\n Amid the intensifying hostilities, the Government continues to order the mandatory evacuation of families with children from front-line villages, she said.\u00a0 However, for some people in these locations \u201cattacks are so frequent\u00a0\u00a0that evacuations themselves become a risky prospect.\u201d<\/p>\n Humanitarians at risk<\/strong><\/p>\n Ms. Wosornu noted that humanitarians also face growing threats.\u00a0This year, two aid workers have been killed and 24 injured while delivering assistance, and some 68 incidents of violence impacting relief personnel, assets and\u00a0facilities have been recorded.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said that \u201cdespite an operating environment beset by multiple risks and challenges,\u201d humanitarians remain committed and engaged, and their operations continue.\u00a0Between January and May, they reached some 3.4 million people with life-saving aid, including food, water, medicines, health services and livelihood support.<\/p>\n Humanitarians are seeking $2.6 billion for Ukraine this year, and $816 million, has been secured, she said, stressing the importance importance of \u201ctimely financial support\u201d.<\/p>\n End the war<\/strong><\/p>\n Ms. Wosornu concluded her remarks by renewing earlier calls for the Council to take urgent, collective action in three areas, including protecting civilians and ensuring safe humanitarian access to all in need. \u00a0<\/p>\n Ambassadors were also urged to ensure sustained financial support as \u201cdeclining funding trends\u201d threaten aid efforts.<\/p>\n Her final request was an appeal to \u201cend this war, and until then, ensure that humanitarian concerns are a central part of discussions on a pause in fighting or longer-term agreement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cAs we are facing renewed escalation on the ground and crisis elsewhere, it is critical to maintain focused…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7654],"tags":[2000,299,657],"class_list":{"0":"post-202497","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ukraine","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-ukraine"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114721311087949534","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}