The United Nations Security Council has issued warnings about the rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, citing a sharp surge in civilian casualties amidst Russia's intensified aerial attacks, marking the deadliest period of the war in more than a year.
Officials at the UN HQ in New York on Tuesday said that civilian casualties between January and November have risen by 24% compared to the same period in 2024.
Kayoko Gotoh, a senior official in the UN’s Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said, “2025 has been one of the deadliest for the people of Ukraine. These figures continue to increase as the Russian Federation escalates its aerial attacks across Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, accused nations continuing to purchase Russian energy of indirectly financing the war. He called for coordinated sanctions on all states sustaining Russia’s revenue streams.
“If we place the numbers of energy imports side by side with Russia’s military budget last year, estimated at around $145 billion, the picture becomes unmistakably clear,” Melnyk said.
“The purchases of Russian energy by just the three biggest consumers exceeded by far the entirety of Russia’s annual defence spending. In other words, due to the absence of UN-mandated sanctions — an absence ensured, of course, by Moscow’s abuse of the veto in this Council — a number of states are effectively sustaining Putin’s war, Putin’s war machine, through the growing imports of Russian oil, gas, and coal,” Melnyk added.
Russia’s Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, pushed back, claiming Ukraine is forcibly conscripting civilians and accusing Western governments of prolonging the conflict.
“Ukrainians are now being forced to pay an even higher price. Men who don’t want to fight have been grabbed in the streets. They are being sent to a pointless, fratricidal meat grinder,” Nebenzia said.
“Can any of those who called today’s meeting clarify why Ukrainians are being forced to fight against their will, when what we have on the table are fairly realistic proposals for a long-term, lasting settlement of the Ukrainian conflict — something that our U.S. colleagues are diligently working on?”
The United States representative Jennifer Locetta condemned Russia’s ongoing strikes on populated areas and energy infrastructure, especially as winter conditions worsen.
“The rising humanitarian cost of this war is unacceptable, and it will ripple through for decades across the region," Locetta said.
"Meanwhile, as the winter grows colder and darker, strikes in populated areas and against Ukraine’s energy grid continue, leaving millions without heat and power. The killing must stop. Both sides must choose peace,” she added.
The session, convened at the request of six member states, including Slovenia and the United Kingdom, ended with renewed calls for de-escalation but no consensus on immediate actions.
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The Middle East crisis intensifies after the deadly attack on the compound of the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on Saturday that killed him, other family members and senior figures. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. targets in the region.
The U.S.-Iran crisis has entered its third day, with further strikes reported across the Middle East and the death toll rising. Oil prices have surged to levels last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, raising fears of economic disruption and higher prices worldwide.
Türkiye and Iran have suspended day-trip passenger crossings at their shared border, Türkiye's trade minister said Monday, as a U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran entered its third day.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov following recent military strikes carried out by the United States and Israel on targets in Iran, as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise.
Follow the latest developments and global reaction after the U.S. and Israel launched “major combat operations” in Iran, prompting retaliation from Tehran.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Saudi Aramco closed its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday following an Iranian drone strike, an industry source told Reuters as Tehran retaliated across the Gulf after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranian targets over the weekend.
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
The Middle East crisis intensifies after the deadly attack on the compound of the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on Saturday that killed him, other family members and senior figures. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. targets in the region.
Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has moved into a pivotal constitutional role following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, becoming the clerical member of Iran’s temporary leadership council under Article 111 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The U.S.-Iran crisis has entered its third day, with further strikes reported across the Middle East and the death toll rising. Oil prices have surged to levels last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, raising fears of economic disruption and higher prices worldwide.
The UK said it's allowing the U.S. to use its bases for defensive strikes against Iran amid escalating missile attacks, after a suspected drone strike hit a British airbase in southern Cyprus, causing limited damage.
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
European Union stands with its member states in the face of any threat, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in response to the drone strike that hit Britain's Royal Air Force base of Akrotiri in southern Cyprus overnight.
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