UN warns Ukraine 'more dire' as civilian casualties hit record highs

Civilian toll reaches record levels

Kayoko Gotoh, director of the UN's Europe and Central Asia Division, warned the Security Council on Monday that the situation in Ukraine has become "even more dire and dangerous" over the past month, with civilian casualties continuing to reach "record highs" amid intensified hostilities. She stated that millions of Ukrainian civilians remain under constant fire as the Russian Federation intensifies attacks on population centers and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine, citing recent civilian deaths in Kremenchuk, Izium and Kyiv.

Gotoh reported that at least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 injured this September — a figure 85% higher than the same month last year — and noted that preliminary analysis indicates October was "just as high as in September." She added that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also expressed concern over casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure inside Russia, where Ukrainian attacks on oil and industrial facilities were reported in recent weeks. "After nearly five years of record levels of death, devastation, and civilian suffering, the war in Ukraine is only getting more dangerous and unpredictable," she said.

Infrastructure attacks threaten nuclear safety

Warning of the approaching winter, Gotoh stressed that "all attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur, are a violation of international humanitarian law and must cease immediately." She noted that strikes against energy infrastructure specifically endanger the safe operation of Ukraine's nuclear sites. Mohamed Yahya, assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator, told the Council on behalf of relief chief Tom Fletcher that the humanitarian situation has been deteriorating for months.

Brief truce offers limited respite ahead of Abu Dhabi talks

Yahya cautioned that "as winter sets in, every loss of electricity, heating or water puts more lives at risk." He described the six-day ceasefire in Oleshky as the longest since 2022 despite being "limited in time and geography," noting that the pause gave civilians "a measure of safety" but did not alter the wider pattern of hostilities. Listing three demands, he began by insisting that "civilians, and the infrastructure they depend on, must be protected wherever they are," and urged the parties to seize the opportunity of trilateral talks scheduled for later this week in Abu Dhabi to build on the opening and pursue practical arrangements allowing aid through.