Ukraine civilians face escalating assaults and mounting hardship, UN warns | EUROtoday

“Our findings establish several worrying trends: rising civilian casualties in both frontline and urban areas, sustained attacks on energy infrastructure, and continued patterns of systematic and widespread torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees,” stated Danielle Bell, head of the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU),

Russia launched its so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and the report covers the interval from 1 June to 30 November 2025.

Surge in civilian casualties

It reveals that civilian casualties surged in each frontline and concrete areas, with July marking the very best variety of civilian deaths and accidents since April 2022.

A complete of 1,420 civilians had been killed and 6,545 injured throughout the reporting interval – a 12 per cent enhance over the identical interval a 12 months earlier and a practically 40 per cent enhance over the prior six months.

Casualties included 61 medical staff, 99 emergency service personnel, six media professionals, and 13 humanitarian staff.

Western Ukraine additionally skilled its deadliest assault because the invasion started, when a large-scale mixed drone–missile strike killed no less than 36 civilians in Ternopil on 19 November.

Deteriorating circumstances on the frontlines

Frontline areas have skilled a extreme deterioration in dwelling circumstances, as short-range drones, aerial bombs, and different munitions induced in depth injury to residential buildings and different very important civilian infrastructure.  Some areas had been left uninhabitable, forcing residents to hunt shelter elsewhere.

Additionally, many hospitals and clinics in frontline cities had been destroyed or pressured to shut, leaving residents with out entry to fundamental healthcare.

This was compounded by disruption of water, heating, and electrical energy, which significantly impacted older individuals and individuals with disabilities.

© UNDP Ukraine/Oleksandr Ratush

Damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has lad to led to disruptions in important providers like electrical energy, heating, and water provides. (file)

Energy grid attacked

During October and November, Russia launched eight large-scale, coordinated waves of missile and drone assaults concentrating on Ukraine’s vitality system, which induced emergency energy outages and each day electrical energy cuts in a number of areas.

Scheduled energy cuts lasted as much as 18 hours per day, with interruptions in water providers and heating for a lot of hours or days in some areas.

Record prisoner alternate

Ukraine and Russia additionally carried out the most important alternate of prisoners of warfare (POWs) since 2022, with the perimeters releasing greater than 3,000 individuals.  However, HRMMU noticed no enhancements within the remedy of these interned.

“Systematic and widespread torture and ill-treatment of POWs is one of the most shocking and pervasive features of this war,” Ms. Bell remarked.

A Ukrainian POW spoke about how he was handled in a pre-trial detention facility in Russia.

“During my whole time in the facility, we were beaten almost every day. The guards beat us almost every time we were leaving the cell for an inspection or to go to the medical unit or shower,” he advised investigators.

“Several times I was beaten so badly that my body hurt for weeks.”

Limited care, extrajudicial executions

Russia not too long ago freed 187 Ukrainian POWs and “185 provided accounts of severe beatings, stress positions, electric shocks, suffocation, dog attacks and, in many cases, sexual violence,” Ms. Bell stated.

“Interviewees also described harsh conditions of detention, limited medical care, and violence occurring during capture, transfer, admission to new facilities, and throughout internment,” she added.

Monitors additionally interviewed 137 POWs held by Ukraine, together with 10 nationals of third international locations. More than half supplied accounts of torture and ill-treatment throughout interrogation or switch, earlier than arrival at official internment amenities.

“I knew nothing, but they kept torturing me even more,” a Russian POW stated about his expertise throughout interrogation in a transit place

The report additionally paperwork an increase in extrajudicial executions of POWs.  At least 4 incidents involving the killing of 10 Ukrainian servicepersons after seize by Russian forces had been assessed as credible.

Four executions of Russian POWs by Ukrainian armed forces had been additionally recorded, alongside credible allegations of three further incidents at present beneath evaluation.

Life beneath occupation

Meanwhile, authorities in Ukrainian territory beneath Russian occupation continued to impose measures in violation of worldwide humanitarian regulation, with worsening restrictions on freedom of motion, expression, faith, and entry to unbiased info.

In March, Russia issued a decree which set a ten September deadline for Ukrainian residents in these areas to get a Russian passport, residence allow or different doc to “legalise” their keep or threat deportation.

Patterns of arbitrary arrest, prosecutions for criticism of the “special military operation”, the usage of pressured confessions, and the retroactive utility of prison legal guidelines.

The report highlights the continued efforts of the Ukrainian authorities and humanitarians to assist civilians, together with large-scale evacuations, institution of transit centres, and supply of medical, psychosocial, and authorized help.

This is happening regardless of extraordinarily difficult and more and more harmful circumstances, together with assaults on humanitarians.