Millions in Ukraine have been left without heating, water or basic public services as winter temperatures plunge - and civilian deaths this year have already surpassed the total for 2024, the UN Security Council heard on Thursday.
"Ukrainian civilians have continued to bear the brunt of the Russian Federation's escalating aerial campaign," said Kayoto Gotoh, Europe Director with the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA).
She briefed the Council against the backdrop of sustained missile and drone strikes, including a barrage on Wednesday night that killed at least 25 people.
Despite the intensifying violence, Ms. Gotoh noted that the UN has supported more than six million people with electricity, heating, water and sanitation services.
She also highlighted last month's breakthrough by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ), which secured agreement from both sides to reconnect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the grid.
No region spared
While most civilian casualties occur near the frontline, Russia's growing use of long-range weapons is exposing more of the country to danger. Describing Wednesday's assault as among the war's "deadliest", Ms. Gotoh said the western regions of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk were also struck. "No region of Ukraine is safe," she warned.
Alarming casualty figures underscore the scale of the crisis. The number of civilians killed in Kyiv by the end of October was nearly four times higher than in all of 2024, and overall casualties nationwide have already exceeded last year's count.
According to the UN human rights office ( OHCHR ), 14,534 civilians - including 745 children - have been killed since the war began.
Russia, too, is experiencing rising impacts from the conflict: Ukrainian drone strikes have reportedly killed 392 people, including 22 children, according to Russian authorities. The UN has not been able to verify these figures.
Under strain
Some 3.7 million Ukrainians remain displaced within the country and nearly six million are refugees, said Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy with the UN aid coordination office, OCHA .
This year alone, around 122,000 people have been newly uprooted, mainly from frontline areas.
Humanitarian workers continue to operate under constant threat from shelling, shifting battle lines and other security risks.
"We continue to urge the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure - including humanitarian and medical personnel and assets," Ms. Wosornu said.
She warned that severe underfunding of the 2025 humanitarian response plan is already curtailing essential services, leaving 72,000 displaced people without adequate shelter, limiting specialised support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, and halting critical programmes for more than 600,000 women and girls.
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