“Ukrainian civilians have continued to bear the brunt
of the Russian Federation’s escalating aerial campaign,”
said Kayoto Gotoh, Europe Director with the UN Department of Political and
Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA).
She briefed the
Council against the backdrop of sustained missile and drone
strikes, including a barrage on Wednesday night that killed
at least 25 people.
Despite the intensifying violence,
Ms. Gotoh noted that the UN has supported more than six
million people with electricity, heating, water and
sanitation services.
She also highlighted last
month’s breakthrough by the UN International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), which secured
agreement from both sides to reconnect the Zaporizhzhia
Nuclear Power Plant to the grid.
No region
spared
While most civilian casualties occur near the
frontline, Russia’s growing use of long-range weapons is
exposing more of the country to danger. Describing
Wednesday’s assault as among the war’s “deadliest”,
Ms. Gotoh said the western regions of Lviv and
Ivano-Frankivsk were also struck. “No region of
Ukraine is safe,” she warned.
Alarming
casualty figures underscore the scale of the crisis.
The number of civilians killed in Kyiv by the end of
October was nearly four times higher than in all of
2024, and overall casualties nationwide have
already exceeded last year’s count.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
According to the
UN human rights office (OHCHR),
14,534 civilians – including 745 children – have been
killed since the war began.
Russia, too, is
experiencing rising impacts from the conflict:
Ukrainian drone strikes have reportedly killed 392
people, including 22 children, according to Russian
authorities. The UN has not been able to verify these
figures.
Under strain
Some 3.7 million
Ukrainians remain displaced within the country and nearly
six million are refugees, said Edem Wosornu, Director of
Operations and Advocacy with the UN aid coordination office,
OCHA.
This year
alone, around 122,000 people have been newly uprooted,
mainly from frontline areas.
Humanitarian workers
continue to operate under constant threat from shelling,
shifting battle lines and other security risks.
“We
continue to urge the protection of civilians and civilian
infrastructure — including humanitarian and medical
personnel and assets,” Ms. Wosornu said.
She warned
that severe underfunding of the 2025 humanitarian response
plan is already curtailing essential services, leaving
72,000 displaced people without adequate shelter, limiting
specialised support for survivors of conflict-related sexual
violence, and halting critical programmes for more than
600,000 women and
girls.
