The UN warned on Monday of an alarming escalation of fighting in Ukraine, amid a lack of significant diplomatic progress, and the risk of the conflict spiraling out of control is high.
“Since our last briefing to this Council on developments in Ukraine, we have seen an alarming escalation of fighting, while there has been no significant diplomatic progress,” said Khaled Khiari, UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, at a Security Council meeting on Ukraine, adding that “Russian attacks continue to intensify, with civilian casualties and destruction increasing across Ukraine.”
Referring to Russia's announcement of a 32-hour ceasefire for Easter from April 11-12, Khiari said: "We welcome any initiative, even a limited one, that would bring some relief to the civilian population."
Regarding the number of casualties, he said that "in total, since February 2022, OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) has verified that at least 15,578 Ukrainian civilians, including 784 children, have been killed," with another 43,352, including 2,668 children, injured.
As the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster approaches on April 26, Khiari warned that this “serves as a warning of the scale of destruction we could witness in the event of another incident, intentional or unintentional, as the war continues to endanger Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, particularly the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear facility in Europe.”
"It is imperative that all military activities near nuclear power plants cease immediately," he said.
Calling for coordinated global action, he warned: "We cannot afford to risk the conflict spiraling out of control with even higher human costs and unpredictable consequences for all of us."
Echoing these concerns, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya warned that “attacks have intensified and civilians continue to bear the brunt,” with the geographical spread of attacks widening and damage to key access routes limiting humanitarian outreach.
Of the 10.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance this year, she said nearly three-quarters of the $2.3 billion needed remained unfunded, with "almost $1.7 billion still to be funded."
Msuya's three urgent demands included respect for international humanitarian law, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all areas of Ukraine, and timely funding, warning that "delays reduce what can be provided and prolong hardship for civilians."
