UN rights chief urges 'decisive shift' to end Ukraine war

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Friday called for a "decisive shift" toward de-escalation and peace in Ukraine, warning that the protracted conflict has become a "human rights catastrophe" that continues to intensify by the week. Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk stated that the conduct of the war to date "cannot be allowed to dictate its future" and urged renewed negotiations backed by concrete confidence-building measures, including agreements to end attacks on economic targets and energy infrastructure, local ceasefires along the frontlines to enable civilians to leave Oleshky, and a full exchange of prisoners of war.

Surging civilian toll

Turk said his office verified some 15,280 civilians killed and injured across Ukraine during the first eight months of 2026, averaging more than 400 casualties weekly — a 55% increase over the same period in 2025. Calling Ukraine a "laboratory for drone warfare," he noted that Russian aerial glide bombs alone killed or injured nearly 2,500 civilians in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions, marking a 62% year-on-year rise. He accused Russian forces of intensifying strikes on supermarkets, food companies and transportation networks, while noting that Ukrainian forces have reportedly struck warehouses and logistics centers belonging to major e-commerce companies, as well as oil refineries, inside Russia.

Atrocities and accountability

The rights chief cited a recent report documenting more than 1,000 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, of which "89% were attributed to Russian authorities and 11% to Ukraine," with most victims being men in detention, though women and children were also affected primarily in occupied Ukrainian territory. "Alongside peace, there must be accountability," Turk said, urging the international community, particularly states with influence, to take "urgent action to push for a negotiated peace now, before this tragedy becomes even worse." He additionally voiced alarm over human rights violations linked to the presence of fighters from third countries, noting his staff interviewed "prisoners of war from 29 countries who are held by Ukraine" and many reported being deceived into joining the Russian forces.