Long-range Russian attacks across Ukraine are intensifying, including in Kyiv, causing at least 14 civilian deaths and 78 injuries overnight into Thursday, as UN agencies continue to provide aid.
Seven children were wounded in the strikes, which further damaged health and energy facilities, according to Ukrainian authorities and reports from Russian-occupied areas.
In Russian-occupied areas, reports also indicate that two civilians were killed and nine were injured in the Donetsk region.
Overnight attacks damaged energy infrastructure in Poltavska, Rivnenska and Volynska oblasts, disrupting the power supply, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Hostilities also caused power cuts in six frontline areas, while emergency power outages were also reported in Kyiv.
Scrambling to reach frontline communities
UN agencies continue to support communities in frontline areas of Ukraine, where reaching them is complicated or dangerous.
A UN Department of Safety and Security team delivered relief supplies on Wednesday to a community close to the contact line in the Zaporizhzhia region, where they described access as "severely constrained".
Helping with winterisation efforts, the UN Children's Fund ( UNICEF ) reported this week that it has supported nearly 70,000 families living on the frontline with cash assistance, delivered in partnership with Ukrainian authorities.
UN team tours restive West Bank
Acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Ramiz Alakbarov and 13 UN Member State representatives have visited Jenin in the West Bank to learn about challenges surrounding the ongoing Palestinian olive harvest, displacement and recurrent Israeli settler attacks, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Thursday.
In the village of Arraba, the group heard from farmers who have been subjected to recurrent settler attacks while attempting to bring in the olive harvest - which combined with Israeli access restrictions, is undermining food security.
"Our humanitarian partners briefed the delegation on efforts to protect olive pickers, including by accompanying them to the groves and providing legal aid to challenge Israeli-imposed access restrictions," Mr. Dujarric said.
Up to 100,000 Palestinian households depend on olives for their livelihoods, but many Palestinians are being prevented from gathering their crops safely, Dr. Alakbarov said, emphasising that crimes committed against them must stop and the perpetrators must be held to account by the Israeli authorities.
Prolonged displacement
At a UN clinic in the city of Qabatiya, the diplomats met with Palestinians who, since early 2025, have been prevented by the Israeli authorities from returning to Jenin refugee camp, where many of their homes have been destroyed.
The UN agency for Palestine refugees ( UNRWA ) briefed the group on support being provided to those families, from food and shelter to other essential services.
Dr. Alakbarov stressed that more funding is needed and urged the Israeli authorities to enable Palestinians' safe and dignified return.
Unlawful deaths of the elderly: Overlooked and under-reported
Suspicious deaths of elderly people are under-reported, under-investigated and under-researched worldwide, an independent human rights expert said on Thursday, in a call to boost investigations and prevention work.
Morris Tidball-Binz, who reports to the UN Human Rights Council on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said that ageism and other discrimination "too often lead to abuse, neglect and other causes of unlawful deaths being overlooked".
The Special Rapporteur maintained that "harmful age-based stereotypes depicting older persons as inevitably frail, sick and near death can normalise and depersonalise their deaths".
Criminal, preventable deaths
This can mean that criminal or preventable deaths are falsely reported as the result of ageing.
Sepsis can cause a natural death, but it may be the result of long-lasting abuse and neglect, Mr. Tidball-Binz noted.
In his report to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur detailed practical measures that improve respect for and protection of older persons' right to life; these include strengthening investigative processes, data collection, institutional oversight and prevention.
"Professionals must be trained and equipped to recognise, respond to and document age-related vulnerabilities and signs of abuse," said the Human Rights Council-appointed independent expert, who is not UN staff member and does not receive a salary for his work.
