© UNICEF UNICEF volunteers distribute humanitarian aid to residents of Ukraine. Ukraine: The UN Security Council discussed the consequences of the recent escalation of hostilities Peace and Security
The UN Security Council met on Monday for an extraordinary meeting, which Ukraine requested with the support of the European members of the Council. Against the background of intensifying hostilities and an increase in the number of civilian casualties, UN representatives reported new large-scale strikes, damage to cultural heritage sites and a deterioration in the humanitarian situation.
Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the Pacific Khaled Hiari recalled that on June 15, the Russian Federation launched another massive attack on Ukraine. The Kiev, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Sumy and Nikolaev regions came under fire. Five people were reportedly killed in Kyiv and another 30, including children, were injured.
Serious damage was caused to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. According to UNESCO, since February 2022, more than 530 cultural objects have been damaged in Ukraine. In Kharkov, as a result of the strike, five emergency services workers who arrived at the scene of the previous attack were killed. Prior to this, a drone damaged the Kharkov Art Museum, injuring a baby and four other people.
Increasing number casualties
“Daily attacks continue. Just last night, a missile attack on Odessa reportedly killed one person and injured three others,” Khiari said. – On June 19, in the port of Odessa, drones attacked foreign civilian ships, killing one crew member and injuring two more.”
The UN representative recalled that May was the deadliest month for the civilian population of Ukraine since April 2022. In total, at least 16,126 civilians, including 796 children, have been confirmed killed since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. 46,590 people were injured, including 2,835 children. The real figures, as emphasized by the UN, are probably much higher.
Restoration of Ukraine
Khiari recalled that this week the annual Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine will be held in Gdansk, Poland, designed to intensify international efforts to support the recovery and reconstruction of the country.
He stressed that the UN will continue to support the people of Ukraine on the long road to recovery, noting the importance of women’s full participation both in reconstruction processes and in decision-making that determines the future of the country. At the same time, the UN representative emphasized, sustainable recovery is only possible with a broader vision of peace and a political settlement to the conflict.
Humanitarian situation
Speaking at the meeting on behalf of the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, Representative of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Eden Wosornu said that in recent weeks the suffering of the civilian population of Ukraine has only intensified.
She noted that the Monitoring UN mission on human rights in the country documents strikes on ambulances, rescue workers and aid workers.
The use of short-range drones along the front line is of particular concern. According to the mission, in May the number of deaths and injuries as a result of attacks by such drones turned out to be the highest since the beginning of a full-scale war. At the same time, devices equipped with cameras allow operators to see the target in real time.
Attacks on Russian territory the growing impact of war on civilians in the Russian Federation,” Khiari added. – Only today, according to available data, three people were injured as a result of a missile attack on a factory in Voronezh.”
According to received information, on June 18, as a result of a Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow and the Moscow region, which Russian authorities called the largest since the beginning of the war, 17 people, including children, were injured. Damage was reported to an oil refinery facility, residential buildings and a large shopping center.
According to Russian and Belarusian authorities, on June 17, a drone attacked a bus carrying a Belarusian youth football team in the Bryansk region. The death of a pregnant woman and the injuries of seven people are reported, five of whom are children. 2026, 184 civilians were killed and 1,175 were injured in various regions of the country.
Vosornu expressed concern over reports of civilian casualties, damage to infrastructure and associated environmental risks in the Russian Federation, including Moscow. She noted that the UN’s lack of on-site monitoring capabilities does not detract from the seriousness of the reports.
The OCHA representative recalled that international humanitarian law applies equally to all parties to the conflict, regardless of the location of military operations. According to her, all participants in war are obliged to observe the principles of distinction between military and civilian objects, proportionality and taking precautions to protect civilians.