Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary A. Dicarlo
Remarks to the Security Council on Ukraine
New York, 9 July 2026
Mr. President,
In the past week alone, three massive waves of Russian aerial strikes targeted Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, further raising the alarming civilian death toll and widening the destruction.
Overnight on 8 July, missile and drone attacks were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa, causing civilian casualties.
This followed a massive overnight aerial attack on Kyiv on 6 July.
Kyiv and the Kyiv region were reportedly attacked with dozens of missiles – including ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles - and hundreds of drones.
At least 28 people, including a 12-year-old boy, were reportedly killed. At least 90 people, including at least seven children, were reported injured.
This brutal attack came only days after one of the deadliest assaults on Kyiv since the start of the war.
On the night of 2 July, the Russian Federation launched over 70 missiles and nearly 500 drones at the city, reportedly killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 100, including children.
Over 50,000 people – among which thousands of children - sought refuge in underground metro stations.
More damage to residential and other civilian infrastructure was reported in all districts of the capital.
The same night, civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure were also reported in Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Chernihiv regions of Ukraine.
In Dnipropetrovsk region, a child was reportedly killed.
In Kherson, a Russian strike on a medical facility reportedly killed a doctor and injured a nurse.
These attacks show a clear pattern. They targeted urban centers with large civilian populations and destroyed or severely damaged residential buildings, with devastating consequences for the people living there.
We condemn these attacks in the strongest terms.
My colleague from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Indrika Ratwatte, will provide further details of the worsening humanitarian impact of the attacks.
Mr. President,
The escalation of the war continues to harm civilians living in territories of Ukraine under temporary occupation of the Russian Federation.
On 3 July, at least five civilians were reportedly killed and 21 injured in a drone attack on a central market in the occupied city of Tokmak, in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine.
In the Russian-occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea, an alleged Ukrainian strike on 6 July reportedly killed one person and led to wide-spread power cuts across the peninsula.
Russian occupying authorities have declared a state of emergency in Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol due to fuel and water shortages.
Inside the Russian Federation, Ukraine has continued drone attacks on oil, industrial and military infrastructure.
Some of these attacks have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties and damage to civilian, including residential, infrastructure.
In one such incident on 2 July, local Russian officials reported that one person had been killed as a result of an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in the Belgorod region.
Water and power supplies in the city of Belgorod were reportedly disrupted.
The same day, in the nearby Bryansk region, local authorities reported one person killed from an alleged Ukrainian strike.
As we repeatedly and consistently stressed in our briefings to the Council, any attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur, are a clear violation of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately.
Mr. President,
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that civilian casualties in Ukraine – killed and injured – were higher in May than in any other month since the beginning of the conflict.
Preliminary figures for June indicate an even higher toll - with at least 265 people killed and 1,816 injured. This concerning trend is seemingly continuing into July.
In total, since the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, OHCHR has verified that at least 16,402 civilians, including 802 children, have been killed in Ukraine.
48,428 civilians, including 2,948 children, have been injured. These figures account only for verified casualties. Actual figures are likely significantly higher.
Russian authorities have reported that 250 civilians were killed and 1,596 injured in the Russian Federation in the first six months of 2026. The United Nations is not in a position to verify these reports.
Mr. President,
Civilians in territories of Ukraine under the temporary occupation of the Russian Federation continue to be subjected to alleged wide-spread and systematic human rights violations by the occupying authorities.
According to the Secretary-General’s recent report on the “Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol”, Russian authorities continue to violate international humanitarian and human rights law.
The report refers to severe restriction of freedom of expression and opinion, with occupying authorities imposing administrative fines or prison sentences on residents for criticizing them or expressing pro-Ukrainian opinions or using pro-Ukrainian symbols.
We continue to urge the Russian Federation to cease practices that violate its international human rights obligations, and to ensure unfettered access to OHCHR and other international human rights monitoring mechanisms.
Mr. President,
For over four years, the war in Ukraine has shattered millions of lives, displaced and separated countless families, and devastated thousands of homes and communities.
This war continues to undermine international law and erode regional peace and security.
Its consequences continue to inflict a devastating toll, and a higher cost for all concerned, with Ukrainian civilians bearing the brunt.
There are no military solutions that could bring about lasting peace.
Only inclusive, meaningful dialogue and negotiations can reverse the current dangerous trajectory.
We therefore urge all concerned Member States to make full use of all diplomatic tools and channels to achieve urgent de-escalation.
An immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire cannot be delayed any further.
That ceasefire must lead to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, in line with the UN Charter, international law, and relevant UN resolutions.
The United Nations supports all efforts to this end.
Thank you.
