UN demands accountability in Ukraine peace talks amid soaring civilian toll

The United Nations emphasised on Tuesday that any peace negotiations on Russia’s war in Ukraine include full responsibility for the conflict’s litany of crimes, coming after the bloodiest month for civilians since May 2022.

Volker Turk’s appeal comes the day after US President Donald Trump warned Moscow that it would face significant new economic sanctions if the war was not ended within 50 days.

Trump also announced preparations to provide arms to Kyiv through NATO.

In recent weeks, Trump has been more frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has escalated assaults rather than stopped them.

“An immediate ceasefire is needed now to end this unbearable suffering,” Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for Turk’s office, told a media briefing.

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“Work on a lasting peace, in line with international law, must intensify - a peace that ensures accountability for gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

Rather than being sidelined or overlooked, “any move towards ceasefire, towards peace - accountability must be at its heart”, she added.

Surging civilian casualties

Throssell said Turk wanted any negotiations to focus in the immediate term on ending attacks that affect civilians and protecting the rights of people in occupied territory.

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They should also seek to return forcibly transferred or deported children, establish humanitarian corridors across the line of control and an bring end to the torture and ill treatment of prisoners of war and other detainees, she said.

Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

Moscow has unleashed record waves of drone and missile attacks over the past few weeks, with the number of Ukrainian civilians killed or wounded in June hitting a three-year high, according to UN figures, with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured.

“July has brought no respite for civilians in Ukraine,” said Throssell.

So far this month at least 139 civilians have reportedly been killed and 791 wounded, she said, citing the “intense and successive waves of missile and drone strikes” launched by Russian forces.

“Intense and sustained attacks using explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas are likely to have indiscriminate impacts and as such raise serious concerns as to their compliance with international humanitarian law,” said Throssell.

The UN human rights office has so far been able to verify and document at least 13,580 civilians killed and 34,115 wounded since the Russian invasion began but acknowledges that the full figures will be far higher.

Attacks on healthcare

Meanwhile Jarno Habicht, the World Health Organization’s representative in Ukraine, said civilian casualties “almost doubled” in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the first.

He said the WHO had recorded 2,504 attacks on healthcare since the start of the war, involving 212 deaths and 768 injuries.

The WHO records attacks but does not attribute blame as it is not a criminal investigations body.

“That means that healthcare is not a safe place for the patients and healthcare workers – and it’s a violation of humanitarian law,” said Habicht.

He also sounded an alarm on “problem” behaviours growing during the war – heavy drinking among adults, and new tobacco products used by youths.