UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at Human Rights Council on Ukraine: “This war needs to end”

“This year has seen intense attacks along the frontline, and massive airstrikes, largely in populated areas. In some towns in frontline communities, nearly all the housing has been damaged or destroyed,” Türk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“Russian forces launched the largest air attack of the war on the night of 6 September, sending a total of 823 munitions, including 810 long-range drones and 13 powerful missiles, over Ukraine,” he said.

“Harm to Ukrainian civilians has risen sharply, with total casualties in the first eight months of the year increasing by 40 percent compared to 2024. In July we documented the highest number of civilian casualties in a month in more than three years,” Türk said.

“Since the start of the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, we have documented more than 50,000 Ukrainian civilians killed and injured, including more than three thousand children.”

Continued attacks on critical infrastructure, including power stations, gas facilities, bridges, and railways, disrupt daily life and essential services. Vulnerable groups, including children, older people and those with disabilities, are hardest hit by attacks on civilian infrastructure. The onset of winter will only make their living conditions even worse.

The Russian Federation has reported civilian casualties at much lower levels, resulting from alleged attacks by Ukrainian forces, but the UN Human Rights Office has not been able to verify these figures.

Meanwhile, the Russian Federation has detained large numbers of both Ukrainian civilians and military personnel.

“The report we issued last week lays bare the violations of international law inflicted on civilian detainees. In many cases, people living in occupied territory have been arbitrarily seized from the street and held for weeks, months, or even years. In a significant number of cases, these detentions may amount to enforced disappearances,” Türk said.

“My Office has recorded 90 extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian civilians detained by the Russian authorities. We have documented 38 deaths in custody, resulting from torture, lack of medical care or poor conditions. We also documented patterns of widespread, systematic torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence, against Ukrainian civilian detainees. My staff had already recorded these same violations against Ukrainian prisoners of war,” the High Commissioner said

The report states that amendments to the laws of the Russian Federation have entrenched impunity for military personnel, enabling extrajudicial executions, torture, and ill-treatment to go unpunished.

The report also recorded cases of the Ukrainian authorities torturing and mistreating detainees connected to the conflict, including cases of sexual violence. Many of these were in 2022. Ukrainian authorities have taken steps to strengthen safeguards and improve detention conditions, but there is limited accountability, the High Commissioner noted.

“The Russian authorities continue to perpetrate widespread and systematic violations of human rights against Ukrainian civilians in the territory they occupy in the south and east of the country,” he said.

“Residents face increasing pressure to obtain Russian citizenship to access basic services, or risk intimidation, deportation, and the confiscation of their property,” the High Commissioner said.

The Russian occupying authorities have imposed their own curriculum on schools and introduced patriotic and military education. Surveillance and censorship have intensified, including on messaging apps and VPNs, putting civilians and human rights defenders at even greater risk. These practices reflect a deliberate effort to suppress dissent and Ukrainian identity.

The UN Human Rights Office, including the monitoring team in Ukraine, is following these developments closely, gathering evidence, and documenting alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

For the report, UN Human Rights staff conducted over 400 interviews in 17 places of detention, across all regions controlled by Ukraine. For cases from territory currently occupied by the Russian Federation, UN Human Rights staff conducted 216 interviews with released detainees.

“I call on the Russian Federation to halt all extrajudicial executions, torture, mistreatment and sexual violence against civilian detainees and prisoners of war, and to end all arbitrary and unlawful detention practices,” Türk said.

The High Commissioner also urged the Russian Federation to respect international law in territory under its control; to ensure effective oversight of all places of detention; and to grant full access for independent monitors to locations where Ukrainian civilian detainees are held.

He urged Ukraine to respect its obligations under international law in its treatment of detainees, by safeguarding them from torture, ill-treatment and sexual violence.

He called all parties to conduct prompt, independent, and effective investigations of all allegations of violations, and to ensure accountability for perpetrators.

“This war needs to end. The human toll on civilians, and on soldiers and their families, is staggering and heartbreaking,” Türk said.

“Recent reports that Russian military drones have been seen in countries neighboring Ukraine remind us of the dangers this war poses across the region and beyond.

Every day, as the violence continues, the risks of escalation and expansion grow,” he added.

All negotiations and peace initiatives need to prioritize the protection of civilians and uphold the dignity and rights of all, Türk said.

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact

In Geneva:

Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org

Liz Throssell: +41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org

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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at Human Rights Council on Ukraine: “This war needs to end”

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