UN briefing warns of escalating attacks on Ukraine, cites mounting civilian toll and urgent humanitarian gap

Lisa Dalton, a briefing speaker to the Security Council, told representatives that "Since then, attacks on Ukraine have only escalated further," citing fresh strikes that have killed and injured civilians and damaged critical infrastructure.

Dalton said "Just today, the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, was struck again, injuring at least 15 civilians," and described "massive destruction of civilian infrastructure" that has driven new displacement and left many without access to food, medical care, electricity and gas.

Citing the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Dalton said "OHCHR recorded more than 700 civilian casualties across Ukraine in April. 129 civilians were killed, while 574 were injured," and added that roughly "90 percent of all civilian casualties occurred in Ukrainian controlled territory." She also noted strikes were reported inside the Russian Federation, including in the Belgorod region, that reportedly caused civilian casualties and damage to homes.

Dalton warned of repeated attacks on energy systems and logistics. "Since March 22, the UN and its partners have seen 5 waves of attacks directed against Ukraine's energy infrastructure," she said, adding OHCHR recorded 50 such incidents in April and Ukraine's energy ministry reported up to 250,000 residents faced rolling power outages in Kharkiv and ongoing restrictions in Dnipro. She said the outages have left "millions of households across the country with no power, no water, and no gas needed for cooking, heating, hygiene, and other vital services."

The briefing also highlighted a rise in attacks on railway infrastructure. "In April alone, OHCHR recorded 10 attacks on railway infrastructure in government controlled territory," Dalton said, adding those strikes killed 16 civilians and injured 59 and have hindered the movement of people, construction materials and other essential supplies. She warned that attacks on factories and port infrastructure threaten Ukraine's ability to export grain and other agricultural commodities at a time of rising global food insecurity.

Dalton reiterated legal obligations under international humanitarian law, saying the parties "must take constant care to spare all civilians as well as civilian objects, including homes, schools, hospitals, and other essential infrastructure," and renewed a call that "all parties must allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need" and ensure freedom of movement for humanitarian personnel.

She provided an overview of assistance delivered to date: "As of March (date not specified in the briefing), 3,600,000 people have received some form of humanitarian assistance," and "a dozen inter-agency convoys delivered vital supplies to 20,000 people in frontline areas." Dalton said nearly 860,000 people received health-care services; maintenance support for water and wastewater systems reached more than 1,700,000 people; emergency water supplies aided over 1,200,000 people; about 2,000,000 people received food, seed and livestock support; and roughly 580,000 were helped with essential household supplies and materials for emergency home repairs.

Dalton commended the government of Ukraine for additional support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and thanked donors, but said donors had provided only 22% of the $3,100,000,000 needed for the humanitarian response plan. "We call on donors to provide immediate and flexible financial support," she said.

The speaker expressed particular concern about access to areas under occupation. Dalton said an estimated 1,500,000 people in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia currently under the occupation of the Russian Federation are in need of life-saving assistance and reiterated the need for unimpeded access.

Dalton closed by summarizing the scale of the crisis — "the war has caused the death and injury of tens of thousands of people," displaced millions and left more than 14,000,000 people, or about 40% of the population, in need of humanitarian assistance — and called on the council to seek an end to the conflict. The presiding officer thanked Dalton for the briefing.