Agency official condemns strikes on Ukrainian cities, urges immediate ceasefire

An Agency official addressing the United Nations condemned recent waves of aerial strikes on Ukrainian cities this week and urged an "immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire." The speaker said the strikes killed and injured civilians, damaged residential infrastructure and drove thousands to seek shelter underground.

The official, speaking at the meeting, cited figures from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), saying May was the deadliest month for civilian casualties since the start of the war and that preliminary June figures indicate at least 265 people were killed and 1,816 injured. "We condemn these attacks in the strongest terms," the official said.

The statement listed specific incidents this week, including overnight missile and drone attacks reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa, and cited a large assault earlier in the month that reportedly used dozens of ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles and hundreds of drones. The speaker said at least 28 people were killed in one attack — including a 12‑year‑old boy — and at least 90 were injured; an earlier series of strikes on July 2 was reported to have killed at least 31 people and injured more than 100, including children.

The official also described displacement and damage: more than 50,000 people, including thousands of children, reportedly sought refuge in underground metro stations and residential and civilian infrastructure was damaged across districts of the capital and in regions including Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv. The statement flagged a reported child killed in the Popetrovsk region and said a strike on a medical facility in Kherson reportedly killed a doctor and injured a nurse.

Citing OHCHR's cumulative verified figures since February 2022, the speaker said at least 16,402 civilians, including 802 children, have been killed and 48,428 civilians, including 2,948 children, have been injured; the official added that these counts are verified cases and that the actual toll is likely significantly higher. On reports of attacks inside the Russian Federation, the statement acknowledged Russian authorities' internal casualty totals for the first half of 2026 but noted that "the United Nations is not in a position to verify these reports."

The official said the pattern of attacks — striking urban centers and residential buildings — constitutes violations of international humanitarian law and urged the Russian Federation to stop practices that violate international human rights obligations and to allow unfettered access for OHCHR and other monitoring mechanisms. "Only inclusive, meaningful dialogue and negotiations can reverse the current dangerous trajectory," the official said, and called on member states to make full use of diplomatic tools to achieve urgent de‑escalation.

The speaker introduced a colleague from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Enrique Ratuate, who the statement said would provide further details of the humanitarian impact. The United Nations, the official added, supports efforts to end hostilities and pursue a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in line with the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions.