Director, Europe and Central Asia Division, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, Kayoko Gotoh’s remarks to the Security Council on Ukraine
New York, 27 July 2026
Mr. President, Excellencies,
Since we last briefed this Council on 9 July, more than 170 civilians have reportedly been killed and 1,028 injured across Ukraine as a result of intensified aerial attacks by the Russian Federation.
Residential buildings, playgrounds, gas stations, markets, and logistical warehouses have been hit.
Kyiv has remained under constant bombardment.
Just yesterday, the eighth major missile strike on the city this month, struck a residential building. Three people were reported injured.
In July alone, at least 56 civilians have reportedly been killed and 232 injured in Kyiv.
Daily attacks are also being reported in frontline communities in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, with many civilians killed by so-called guided aerial bombs with greater capability for accurate long-distance targeting.
In one such attack, on 24 July, at least six people were reportedly killed and nine others injured after guided aerial bombs struck the city of Sloviansk. Residential buildings, businesses and the Honorary Consulate of Latvia were damaged.
Earlier, on 11 July, guided aerial bombs struck residential areas in Sumy, killing five civilians, including a girl, and injuring 41 others, including children.
In recent weeks, the Odesa region has been particularly heavily affected by repeated deadly strikes.
OHCHR has verified that, just this month, the Odesa region suffered at least 26 civilian deaths and 92 injuries.
In total, since the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion, OHCHR has verified that at least 16,431 civilians, including 803 children, have been killed in Ukraine. 48,613 more, including 2,960 children, have been injured. These figures account only for verified casualties. Actual figures are likely higher.
Mr. President,
As we reported in our last briefing, the summertime escalation has had an increasingly destructive impact on the areas of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.
On Saturday, occupying authorities reported that 12 people, including five children, were killed in a drone attack on a holiday camp in a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region.
In the Russian-occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukrainian drone strikes on electrical substations have reportedly led to prolonged power and water outages across the peninsula.
Inside the Russian Federation, local authorities continue to report increasing numbers of civilian casualties following Ukrainian strikes on oil and other industrial infrastructure in multiple regions, including most recently in Belgorod. They also report that commercial buildings and warehouses are increasingly targeted, with deadly consequences for civilians.
On 24 July, in the Kirov region, northeast of Moscow, at least six people were reportedly killed and more than two dozen others injured following attacks on industrial and logistical centres.
On 18 July, Ukrainian drones reportedly hit large online retail warehouses in Tambov and Moscow regions, killing eight people and injuring more than 60 others. Similar attacks have been reported almost daily since then.
In the first half of this year, OHCHR has recorded reports by local authorities of 1,846 civilian casualties - 250 killed and 1,596 injured - in the Russian Federation. This represents a 121 per cent increase, compared with the same period in 2025.
Mr. President,
International humanitarian law clearly prohibits attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
As we repeatedly and consistently stressed in all our briefings, these attacks are unacceptable, inexcusable and must stop now.
The United Nations continues to unequivocally condemn such attacks - wherever they occur.
Mr. President,
For well over four years, the war in Ukraine has disrupted global energy and food supplies.
As Ukraine has entered a new harvest season, the escalation of Russian attacks on ports and cargo ships in recent weeks raises renewed alarm about the wider regional and global impacts of this war.
The Black Sea ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, Pivdennyi, Izmail and Mykolaiv have been subjected to renewed, systematic attacks by the Russian Federation.
In the Odesa region, more than half a dozen attacks on civilian vessels were reported this month, reportedly killing or injuring 44 crew members.
Many of the ships impacted by the strikes have been under third-country flags and carrying food products.
In one of the deadliest such attacks, on 20 July, Russian missiles reportedly struck a Guinea-Bissau-flagged ship near the port of Odesa, killing 10 people. The ship was carrying grain and its crew consisted of Indian and Syrian nationals.
Earlier, on 13 July, another Russian strike reportedly hit a Togolese-flagged vessel unloading mineral fertilizers at the port of Odesa, killing five people, including three crew members, and injuring 10.
In addition to attacks on ports and civilian ships, the Russian Federation has also intensified attacks on Ukraine’s food industry infrastructure, agricultural equipment and fields, destroying crops ready for harvest and export.
Four out of the thirteen major grain terminals in the Odesa region ports have reportedly suspended their grain purchases due to threat of attacks.
At the same time, Ukraine has expanded attacks against Russian and Russia-linked maritime logistics, including oil tankers. More than 100 vessels have reportedly been struck in the Sea of Azov in July, prompting restrictions on navigation in the Sea of Azov.
The consequences of this latest escalation are already visible in global agricultural markets. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), wheat prices have climbed 20 per cent from the beginning of the month and are at their highest since March 2024.
Further disruptions in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, as well as in other critical areas, could drive up freight, insurance, food and energy costs, with grave consequences for vulnerable and import-dependent developing countries.
We urge maximum restraint against actions that endanger civilian maritime navigation.
Mr. President,
On 15 July, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) experienced its 22nd complete loss of off-site power since the start of the war.
Ten such incidents have occurred in the past three months alone, underscoring the deteriorating reliability of the electrical grid necessary for safe operations of the largest Nuclear Power Plant in Europe.
IAEA has also expressed concern over several drone attacks in the nearby town of Enerhodar, under the temporary occupation of the Russian Federation, where many of the Plant’s staff reside. The persistent physical danger adds to the extremely difficult circumstances under which they continue to work tirelessly to safeguard the Plant’s operation.
As we have reiterated in our previous briefings, any military actions endangering the safety and security of nuclear plants are unconscionable and irresponsible.
We urge maximum restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident.
Mr. President,
As hostilities continue to intensify, their devastating toll on civilians and infrastructure critical to civilian lives, and their far-reaching impact on global food security, underscore, once again, the urgent need for renewed diplomatic efforts.
We must not allow this dangerous escalatory spiral to continue.
We urge all concerned to resume dialogue and inclusive negotiations aimed at de-escalation and at securing an immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire.
This would serve as a crucial and necessary step towards a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace, in line with the UN Charter, international law, and relevant UN resolutions.
The United Nations continues to stand ready to make available its tools and expertise in support of all meaningful efforts to this end.
Thank you.
