Country: Ukraine Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Please refer to the attached file. New York, 20 June 2025As deliveredThank you, Madam President.I welcome the opportunity to brief the Council on Ukraine today along with Assistant-Secretary-General Jenča.Since OCHA briefed the Security Council just three weeks ago, civilians have found no respite from continuing violence.Daily waves of missile and drone strikes continue to exact a devastating toll, particularly in the front lines. These attacks have led to rising civilian casualties, widespread property destruction and growing displacement.As ASG Jenča mentioned, a combined drone and missile attack overnight between 16 and 17 June was reportedly Kyiv’s deadliest in nearly a year, killing over two dozen civilians and injuring more than 100. Ukrainian authorities have also reported finding evidence of the use of cluster munitions, as we heard. Residential buildings and critical infrastructure across the city were damaged or destroyed.In Odesa, attacks reportedly injured multiple civilians and damaged a kindergarten and a centre for children with special needs – places that should offer safety and protection.In Zaporizhzhia, strikes on residential areas have terrorized families in their own homes.Hostilities in the front-line regions of Kherson, Kharkiv and Donetsk, as well as in the border areas of Sumy, continue to cause extensive damage and displacement. Communities in these regions are traumatized, exhausted and rapidly running out of resources, as relentless attacks destroy homes and livelihoods.Madam President,Civilians continue to bear the severe consequences of this war. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reports that long-range missiles and drones have significantly contributed to high levels of civilian casualties across the country this year.Nearly 50 per cent more civilians have been killed and injured in Ukraine in the first five months of 2025 than during the same period in 2024.The UN Mine Action Service estimates that over 20 per cent of Ukraine’s land is contaminated by mines or unexploded ordnances, making it the most heavily contaminated country since World War II.Demining efforts to clear agricultural land, led by the Government of Ukraine and supported by humanitarian partners, enable families to safely return to farming and rebuild their livelihoods. However, given the current levels of contamination, these efforts are expected to continue for many years.Humanitarian workers also face growing threats. So far in 2025, 68 incidents of violence impacting humanitarian personnel, assets and facilities have been recorded. Two aid workers have been killed and 24 have been injured while delivering assistance.Additionally, unverified reports indicate civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure in the Kursk and Belgorod regions of the Russian Federation.As we have consistently emphasized: Under international humanitarian law, constant care must be taken to spare civilians, which ASG Jenča highlighted, including humanitarian workers, and civilian objects, including homes, schools and humanitarian assets.The reported use of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions is of special concern because of their notorious indiscriminate and long-term effects. These weapons must be relegated to the past.Furthermore, in light of recent announcements to withdraw from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Secretary-General recalled this week that “when civilians face heightened risks from widening conflicts, it is imperative that we strengthen the frameworks that protect human life and dignity.”We will persist in our engagement with the parties and Member States to this effect.Madam President,As the war continues, millions of lives are impacted every day, essential services are disrupted, and vulnerabilities are deepening for nearly 13 million people in need of assistance.About 3.7 million people remain internally displaced, including 60,000 newly displaced from front-line regions this year alone. There are almost 6 million Ukrainian people registered as refugees globally, mainly in Europe.Amid intensifying hostilities, the Government of Ukraine continues to decree the mandatory evacuation of families with children from front-line villages, most recently in the Kharkiv region.However, for some people living in these regions, attacks are so frequent that evacuations themselves become a risky prospect. It will be important to help humanitarians find ways to address the needs of this population as well.You’ve heard us say this before. Women and children, as in many crises around the world, are disproportionately impacted, especially in displacement settings.Sexual violence has been documented throughout the war, yet healthcare facilities and safe spaces in rural areas affected by the war are often ill-equipped to respond to survivors. Essential women’s rights and survivor-led organizations operate on limited funding.We remain unable to reach an estimated 1.5 million civilians requiring humanitarian assistance in parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions under occupation by the Russian Federation.International humanitarian law demands that the parties facilitate the rapid and unimpeded access of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, wherever they are.Madam President,Despite an operating environment beset by multiple risks and serious challenges, humanitarian operations in Ukraine continue to forge ahead, and humanitarians remain committed and humanitarians remain engaged.In the first five months of 2025, over 450 humanitarian organizations, largely national NGOs, reached an estimated 3.4 million people with life-saving assistance. Aid delivery has focused on providing food and livelihoods support, emergency water, essential medicines and emergency health services.The objective is to reach those most at risk and most in need, centring on four core response priorities: one, people near the front line; two, evacuations; three, emergency response after strikes; and aid to the most vulnerable among the internally displaced people.With thanks to donors for their generosity, some $816 million – or 31 per cent –of the $2.6 billion needed for the 2025 Ukraine Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan has been secured. Timely financial support is vital to ensure humanitarian operations can continue for those most in need.Madam President,I conclude by renewing our calls earlier to this Council for urgent, collective action on Ukraine:First: Protect civilians, including humanitarian and health workers, and safeguard civilian infrastructure. Ensure safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to all civilians in need.Second: Sustain financial support. Declining funding trends are forcing programmes to close, even as the operational context remains volatile and grows more complex and dangerous. Additional resources are urgently needed to save lives and prepare for the winter.Third: End this war, and until then, ensure that humanitarian concerns are a central part of discussions on a pause in fighting or longer-term agreement.Thank you.