Country: Ukraine Source: UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Remarks by Assistant Secretary-General for Europe,Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenčato theSecurity Council Briefing on UkraineNew York, 25 July 2025Mr. President,The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs briefed the Security Council on the situation in Ukraine last time a little more than a month ago. Since then, the daily barrage of Russian missiles and drones against Ukrainian cities and towns has continued to intensify with devastating consequences for the civilian population.According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in June, civilian casualties in Ukraine reached a three-year high.In the first half of the year alone, 6,754 civilians were killed or injured.According to Ukrainian authorities, so far in July, the Russian Federation has launched at least 5,183 long-range munitions against Ukraine, including a record number of 728 long-range drones on 9 July.In recent weeks, the capital city of Kyiv and the historic port city of Odesa have been especially heavily impacted by the daily attacks involving massive swarms of hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles.And while frontline areas of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine remain particularly dangerous for civilians, nowhere is safe in Ukraine.Over the last few weeks, civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure have also been reported in western Ukrainian regions of Lviv, Volyn, Chernivtsi, as well as in Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk, with the last two cities reportedly experiencing their heaviest aerial attacks of the war.Across the country, attacks have struck hospitals, schools, energy and transport infrastructure, and residential buildings.On 21 July, a massive Russian aerial strike on Kyiv reportedly caused damage to a metro station where hundreds were seeking shelter. The same attack reportedly set a kindergarten on fire and damaged a multi-story residential building, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties.On 11 July, Russian drones hit the city centre of Kharkiv, reportedly damaging a maternity ward at the country’s second-largest hospital, forcing mothers with newborns to flee.On 24 June, a country-wide Russian drone and missile attack reportedly struck a passenger train and damaged more than 40 schools and kindergartens, a cathedral, eight medical centres and hospitals, and several residential buildings. At least 21 people were reportedly killed and more than 300 injured. The same devastating scene was repeated during another record-level attack across Ukraine on 29 June.In total, since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, OHCHR has verified that at least 13,580 civilians, including 716 children, have been killed. 34,115 civilians, including 2,173 children, have been injured.My colleague, Assistant-Secretary-General Msuya, of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, will provide updates about the impacts of the escalating attacks on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.Mr. President,We are also concerned about the increasing number of reported civilian casualties, reportedly resulting from Ukrainian drone attacks inside the Russian Federation.According to Russian officials, Ukrainian drone attacks in recent weeks have led to civilian casualties in the Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Lipetsk and Tula regions of the Russian Federation.Moscow and St. Petersburg have also been targeted with dozens of drones, reportedly causing severe disruptions to air traffic.Following one such recent series of attacks, between 5 and 7 July, over 2,000 flights were reportedly disrupted in multiple Russian airports, including in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Nizhniy Novgorod.The United Nations, however, is not in a position to verify these reported incidents in the Russian Federation, including any reports of civilian casualties.International law clearly prohibits attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. We strongly condemn all such attacks – wherever they occur. They must end immediately.Mr. President,The intensified aerial attacks and fighting on the ground continue to pose a significant threat to the safety and security of Ukraine’s nuclear sites.On 11 July, a drone attack reportedly hit the city hall in Enerhodar, where most of the staff of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) live, located only about five kilometres from the Plant.According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the reported drone attack followed reports of an overnight shooting incident near the ZNPP on 12 July.On 4 July, IAEA raised concerns over the reported loss by ZNPP of all its off-site power for several hours.Meanwhile, Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants – Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine – also regularly report of drones being detected near the sites.These latest incidents underline the fragility of nuclear safety and security during the war and the need to ensure sustained attention to this issue.We continue to urge the sides to act responsibly. Any nuclear incident must be avoided at all costs.Mr. President,Already at the end of last year, the total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine was assessed at $524 billion over the next decade. The most recent escalation of attacks is quickly adding to this toll.In this regard, this year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference that took place in Rome earlier this month, represented a significant milestone in the international community’s commitment to supporting Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction.The event culminated in over $11 billion in pledged funding.Speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General, Acting UNDP Administrator Haoliang Xu reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to supporting Ukraine to rebuild stronger—from advancing green energy and mine action to supporting community resilience.It is crucial that the international solidarity with Ukraine is sustained as the country embarks on its long journey for recovery.Mr. President,On Wednesday, Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul for the third time this year.We welcome the continuation of these direct contacts between the sides and urge Ukraine and the Russian Federation to make further progress towards a ceasefire and a lasting settlement.We are grateful for the meaningful efforts of Türkiye, the United States and other relevant actors to help sustain the necessary diplomatic momentum.We commend in particular the reported progress made in the humanitarian track of these talks, including with regards to exchanges of prisoners of war and civilian detainees.Since late May, following the first two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul, the Russian Federation and Ukraine have already reportedly exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, including those badly injured, as well as more than 7,000 mortal remains.Each such exchange and repatriation alleviates the pain of the affected families and serves as a reminder that diplomacy can work.We therefore call on the sides to continue such exchanges.Mr. President,On Tuesday, this Council unanimously adopted a resolution reiterating that all States “shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means through dialogue, diplomatic engagement and cooperation in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.”The resolution also underscored the importance of the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, and meaningful participation of youth in dispute resolution efforts.As the Secretary-General stated during that meeting, “Diplomacy may not have always succeeded in preventing conflicts, violence and instability. But it still holds the power to stop them.”With this in mind, and recalling the Security Council resolution 2774 (2025) adopted in February, it is crucial that the momentum of the ongoing diplomatic contacts is not only sustained, but reinforced by genuine political will to make tangible progress towards ending the current dangerous cycle of escalation, as soon as possible.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 as the first step towards a just and lasting peace.A peace that is in line with the UN Charter, international law and relevant UN resolutions and that respects the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.We remain ready to support all meaningful efforts to this end.Thank you.