UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned on Wednesday the deadliest Russian strikes on Kyiv this year, which killed 17 people and caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure overnight.
On the heels of the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the early days of the war, Mr. Guterres expressed concern that recent strikes by both Russia and Ukraine have resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties, which represent “a clear violation of international humanitarian law.”
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“This latest series of attacks follows an alarming pattern of escalating strikes against populated areas, reportedly resulting in a record-level increase in numbers of civilian casualties and widespread destruction of residential and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, as well as increasingly in the Russian Federation,” Mr. Guterres said.
Attacks in Kharkiv and Donetsk overnight killed one and three people, respectively. Humanitarian workers are already delivering shelter support, psychosocial assistance and other aid to civilians affected by the strikes in Donetsk, the UN’s aid office (OCHA) said.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian strike on a warehouse killed five in the Moscow region on Tuesday, and a Ukrainian drone strike killed seven on a busy beach in the Krasnodar region on Monday, according to Russian authorities.
While both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians, Mr. Guterres stressed that all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure “must stop immediately.”
War escalates in the air
With the front line essentially at a stalemate across eastern Ukraine since 2023, both countries have resorted to a long-range aerial battle, with Russia targeting cities and energy infrastructure and Ukraine targeting oil refineries and logistics warehouses.
Regardless of intent, civilians have been increasingly caught in the crossfire of these deadly strikes.
In the first six months of this year, the UN confirmed almost 1,400 Ukrainian civilians killed and almost 8,000 injured by Russian attacks.
Though Russian authorities have not released a figure for the same six-month time period, they claim more than 8,000 civilians killed since 2022 and at least 61 killed and 327 wounded by Ukrainian strikes in the last week of July.
Across Ukraine, OCHA reports that 10.8 million people require humanitarian assistance and 3.8 million Ukrainians remain internally displaced.
Mr. Guterres expressed concern that military escalation in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the north, which connects to it, continues to threaten the global food supply.
He called on all parties to ensure freedom of navigation and protect civilian maritime infrastructure.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call for urgent de-escalation, leading to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire and for a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace, in line with international law, including the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions,” UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday.
© UNOCHA
An aid worker talks to two boys in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
Humanitarians killed as aid efforts continue
Thanks to “extremely limited” access and inadequate protection, according to OCHA, 25 humanitarian workers were killed in Ukraine in the line of duty in 2025.
Two staff members of the Ukrainian NGO, Successful Woman – a partner of the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) – were injured in a Wednesday drone attack on the city of Kherson.
“Humanitarian workers must never be targeted,” the IOM wrote on Thursday.
In May, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) condemned repeated “deliberate” attacks by Russian forces on humanitarian warehouses, vehicles, distribution points and other assets after it identified 84 such incidents.
UN agencies remain deployed in Ukraine for the long-term to protect refugees, build emergency shelters, distribute cash assistance, ensure access to education, provide essential mental health services and more.
“Civilians, their homes and life-saving humanitarian assistance must never be a target,” Matthias Schmale, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator and top official in Ukraine, said last month.
