Destroyed children’s hospital in Kiev (archive). Ukraine: The UN monitoring mission presented a new report Human Rights
Ukrainian civilians face almost daily attacks and deteriorating access to basic services. This is stated in a report published today by the UN Human Rights Office. The document documents alarming trends – an increase in the number of civilian casualties, ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s energy system and the systematic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
According to the Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU), July recorded the highest number of dead and wounded civilians in Ukraine since April 2022. A massive drone and missile strike on November 19 killed at least 36 civilians in Ternopil, the deadliest attack in western Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began.
Residents in regions near the front lines, especially the elderly and people with disabilities, have faced sharply deteriorating living conditions, the report says. Many hospitals and clinics were destroyed or forced to close, leaving the population without access to basic medical care.
According to the Mission, in October and November 2025, the Russian Federation carried out eight large-scale, coordinated missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian energy system. These strikes caused power outages in many regions, with blackouts lasting up to 18 hours a day. In some areas, people remained without water and heat for many hours or even days.
The plight of prisoners of war
From May to August 2025, Ukraine and the Russian Federation carried out the largest exchanges of prisoners of war since 2022, but the HRMMU recorded no improvement in the situation of those who is in captivity.
“Of the 187 Ukrainian prisoners of war recently released by the Russian Federation, 185 reported severe beatings, torture in awkward positions, electric shocks, strangulation and dog attacks. 141 people (75 percent) said they had been sexually assaulted. Interviewees also described extremely difficult conditions of detention, limited access to medical care and violence during their capture, transfer, arrival at new facilities and throughout the period of internment,” said the head of the UN Mission, Danielle Bell.
HRMMU also interviewed 137 prisoners of war held by Ukraine, including 10 third-country nationals. More than half of them, including 37 prisoners of war captured this year, reported torture and ill-treatment during interrogation or transfer before arriving at official internment sites. The Mission was granted unimpeded access to such facilities and continues to note that conditions there generally comply with international standards.
The report also documented an increase in the number of extrajudicial executions of prisoners of war. At least four reports of 10 Ukrainian soldiers being killed after being captured by Russian forces have been found to be credible. In addition, four executions of Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces have been documented, and three additional incidents have been crediblely reported and are currently being verified.
Restrictions on Rights and Freedoms
The mission reports that violations of international law continue in the territories of Ukraine under the occupation of the Russian Federation. The report describes increasing restrictions on freedom of movement, expression, religion and access to independent information. Civilians were under increasing pressure to accept Russian citizenship, and daily life became almost impossible without a Russian passport. The report describes cases of arbitrary arrests, criminal prosecution for criticizing a “special military operation”, the use of forced confessions and the retroactive application of criminal laws.
Property rights were also significantly affected, the report says. The occupation authorities continued to implement legislative norms allowing the confiscation of residential property of Ukrainians recognized as “abandoned.” As of November 2025, at least 5,557 housing units were registered and transferred into municipal ownership in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions under this scheme. Ukrainians who were forced to leave the occupied territories reported that they could not participate in legal proceedings to confirm status and retain property.
Deteriorating access to water was also reported in some areas of the occupied Donetsk region. In some settlements, water was supplied only once every few days; many complained about the poor quality and high cost of water in stores.
The report highlights the efforts of Ukrainian authorities and humanitarian organizations to support civilians affected by the fighting, including large-scale evacuations, opening transit centers and providing medical, psychosocial and legal assistance – despite extremely difficult and increasingly dangerous conditions.