The UN said Thursday that civilian casualties in the Ukraine war climbed to a new high in June, as a senior official urged “meaningful dialogue and negotiations” to put an end to the four-year-long war.
“In the past week alone, three massive waves of Russian aerial strikes targeted Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, further raising the alarming civilian death toll and widening the destruction,” Rosemary DiCarlo, UN under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, told the Security Council.
She said the strikes followed a clear pattern, as “they targeted urban centers with large civilian populations and destroyed or severely damaged residential buildings, with devastating consequences for the people living there,” adding, “We condemn these attacks in the strongest terms.”
Citing the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), DiCarlo reported that “civilian casualties in Ukraine, killed and injured, were higher in May than in any other month since the beginning of the conflict.”
“Preliminary figures for June indicate an even higher toll, with at least 265 people killed and 1,816 injured. This concerning trend is seemingly continuing into July,” she said.
On the cumulative toll, she said that since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, OHCHR “has verified that at least 16,402 civilians, including 802 children, have been killed in Ukraine,” cautioning that “actual figures are likely significantly higher.”
She also cited Russian authorities’ reports that “250 civilians were killed and 1,596 injured in the Russian Federation in the first six months of 2026,” noting that “the United Nations is not in a position to verify these reports.”
DiCarlo said, “There are no military solutions that could bring about lasting peace,” stressing, “Only inclusive, meaningful dialogue and negotiations can reverse the current dangerous trajectory.”
Echoing those concerns, Indrika Ratwatte, acting assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that “the past week has brought another surge in civilian casualties and suffering,” with “families with children have been killed in their homes, civilians injured on their way to work, and cut off from essential services.”
He said attacks harming aid workers and damaging their assets “have increased by more than 20% compared with the same period last year.”
Ratwatte urged Council members “to use their influence to pursue every practical opportunity to prevent further civilian suffering,” saying, “Whatever the pace of political efforts, civilians cannot wait. Their needs are immediate and growing. They need protection and assistance now.”
