العربية
Ukraine is entering one of its harshest winters since the conflict began, with millions of civilians now facing freezing temperatures without heating, water, or basic public services. Civilian deaths recorded so far in 2025 have already surpassed the entire toll of 2024, UN officials told the Security Council on Thursday.
Escalating aerial attacks
“Ukrainian civilians continue 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 described a relentless wave of missile and drone strikes across the country, including a major barrage on Wednesday night that killed at least 25 people.
Despite the intensifying attacks, Gotoh noted that UN operations have helped provide electricity, heating, water, and sanitation support to more than six million people this year.
She also highlighted a rare diplomatic breakthrough: the IAEA successfully brokered an agreement for both sides to reconnect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the national grid.
“No region is safe”
While frontline regions continue to endure the highest casualty rates, Russia’s expanding use of long-range weapons is exposing the entire country to danger.
Wednesday’s attacks struck western regions, including Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, far from the frontlines.
“No region of Ukraine is safe,” Gotoh warned.
The human toll is staggering:
- Civilian deaths in Kyiv by late October were nearly four times higher than the total for all of 2024.
- Nationwide civilian casualties have already exceeded last year’s figures.
- Since the start of the war, 14,534 civilians — including 745 children — have been killed, according to the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
Russian authorities also report that 392 people, including 22 children, have been killed by Ukrainian drone strikes, though the UN has not been able to independently verify those numbers.
Displacement rising as humanitarian resources shrink
Humanitarian operations face growing strain as millions continue to flee violence:
- 3.7 million people are internally displaced across Ukraine
- Nearly 6 million refugees remain abroad
- 122,000 people have been newly displaced this year, mostly from frontline areas
Aid workers operate under constant shelling, rapidly shifting battle lines, and severe security risks, said Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at OCHA.
She warned that the underfunded 2025 humanitarian response plan is already forcing life-saving services to scale back:
- 72,000 displaced people lack adequate winter shelter
- Support services for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are being reduced
- Programmes for over 600,000 women and girls are being suspended
“We urgently call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure — including humanitarian and medical staff,” Wosornu said.