Khaled Khiari tells Council mid-April strikes in Ukraine drove civilian deaths, urges ceasefire and UN access to detainees

Mr. Khaled Khiari told the Council on Friday that recent fighting in Ukraine has escalated sharply and produced mounting civilian casualties and widespread damage to infrastructure and cultural sites. "We have seen an alarming escalation of fighting," he said, recounting aerial strikes across multiple regions and saying the violence persisted despite limited truce initiatives.

Khiari noted that on 9 April the Russian Federation announced a 32-hour Easter truce from 11 to 12 April after Ukraine proposed a pause; Ukraine said it would reciprocate, he said, but the pause "was not respected," and hostilities near front lines continued over the holiday weekend. He described three consecutive nights of Russian aerial strikes between 13 and 16 April that "resulted in dozens of civilians killed and injured," and called the night from 15 to 16 April the deadliest attack so far this year, with strikes reported in Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

Citing the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Khiari said at least 211 civilians were killed and 1,206 injured in the previous month, and that OHCHR has verified at least 15,578 civilian deaths, including 784 children, and 43,352 injuries, including 2,668 children, since February 2022. "Of greatest concern is the ever-increasing loss of civilian life," he said.

Khiari also reported incidents of civilian harm reported by Russian regional authorities in border areas and referenced a reported Ukrainian strike in Krasnodar region on 16 April that reportedly killed a woman and a teenage girl.

He warned that attacks on Ukraine's Danube and Black Sea ports and on railway infrastructure threaten the export of agricultural products at a time of heightened global food insecurity. He added that central Lviv's UNESCO heritage sites have again come under fire and noted UNESCO's verification of damage to 519 cultural sites since the start of the war.

"Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law. They must stop immediately wherever they occur," Khiari said.

He welcomed a prisoner exchange on 11 April that returned 175 service members and seven civilians from each side, noting it was the 72nd such exchange since the start of the war. Citing interviews conducted by OHCHR, he said many recently released Ukrainians reported they had been subject to torture or ill-treatment during captivity, though some said instances of torture had decreased or ceased in 2025 and 2026.

Khiari urged the parties to uphold obligations under international humanitarian law and specifically called on the Russian Federation to "grant United Nations unimpeded access to all detainees." He commended those who facilitated exchanges and urged continued efforts "for the sake of those held captive and their relatives."

Turning to children, he urged all involved to "redouble their efforts to return all deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children" and said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict had just completed her first visit to Ukraine in support of that work.

Ahead of the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster on 26 April, Khiari warned of the danger posed by military activity near nuclear sites, singling out the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as Europe's largest nuclear facility and urging both sides to cease military activity near nuclear sites and to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure safe operations, including uninterrupted power supply.

Khiari framed the conflict as a broader test of international law and the rules-based multilateral order that has increased regional tensions and insecurity, saying drones had been sighted this month in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. He called for "sustained attention and coordinated diplomatic engagement" aimed at securing "a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire" and said the United Nations stands ready to support initiatives that could end the suffering and advance prospects for peace.

The Chair thanked Mr. Khiari at the close of the remarks.