Top official warns of rising human toll, nonstop aerial attacks, aid shortage in Ukraine
By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN senior officials o Friday briefed the Security Council on the situation in Ukraine and warned the rising humanitarian needs and the shortage of funds and donor support as Russian aerial attacks continue to intensify across Ukraine, resulted in rising toll on civilians and infrastructure.
Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe at the UN Department of Political Affairs said that “Nowhere is safe in Ukraine.”
He cited figures from the UN human rights office, said civilian casualties reached a three-year high in June, with 6,754 civilians killed or injured in the first half of 2025 alone.
OHCHR noted that Russian forces launched over 5,000 long-range munitions against Ukraine so far in July, including a record-breaking 728 drones in a single day.
Major cities such as Kyiv and Odesa have been hit by swarms of missiles and drones, it added.
Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya echoed those words, said “there is no safe place left in Ukraine” as the use of explosive weapons in populated areas has left cities reeling.
She noted that a rehabilitation centre for persons with disabilities in Kharkiv, maternity wards, schools and energy infrastructure have all come under fire in recent weeks.
The humanitarian impact is worsening sharply, she added.
Ms. Msuya warned that “Nearly 13 million people need assistance, but limited funding means we can reach only a fraction of them”.
Only 34% of the $2.6 billion required for humanitarian response has been received.
Ukraine’s displacement crisis is rising, UN officials said.
Over 3.7 million people remain displaced within the country while 6 million are refugees abroad.
More than 26,000 people have newly registered at transit centres since April alone.
UN officials also expressed concern over reported civilian casualties from Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia, including in Belgorod, Kursk and Moscow.
Mr. Jenča reiterated that “international law clearly prohibits attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. We strongly condemn all such attacks wherever they occur.”
UN could not independently verify these incidents, he said
The attacks near Ukraine’s nuclear facilities have alarmed the UN.
The drone strikes hit Enerhodar, where Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant staff live, and drones have been detected near other operating plants, IAEA reported.
“Any nuclear incident must be avoided at all costs,” Mr. Jenča said.
He added that some diplomatic movement continues, including recent prisoner exchanges and talks in Istanbul, UN officials called for intensified political will towards a ceasefire.
“The heartbreaking and rising human toll of the past nearly three and a half years of war underscores the urgency of a complete, immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” Mr. Jenča said, “as the first step towards a just and lasting peace.”
