Smoke raises above the city in sunrise following an intensive Russian air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 24, 2026.Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is on the cusp of “dangerous” escalation, according to the United Nations.
The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, called for “restraint” on Thursday after civilian casualties in Ukraine had risen sharply.
He pointed out that the number of civilians killed or injured in Ukraine during the first four months of 2026 increased by 21% compared to the same period in 2025.
The UN said 815 civilians were killed and 4,174 injured between January and April this year, while a total of 682 were killed and 3,453 injured in 2025.
Putin has seized approximately a fifth of Ukraine’s sovereign land since invading more than four years ago, and continues to bomb the rest of the country.
Most of the recorded casualties have occurred in Ukraine-controlled land.
The recent uptick comes after a flurry of large-scale attacks, including on a residential building in Kyiv on May 13 and 14, which killed 24 people and injured dozens more.
Türk also pointed to the retaliatory attacks from Ukrainian armed forces after they hit an educational complex in Russia earlier this week, killing 21 people and injured 44 others, according to Russian authorities.
“International humanitarian law demands that parties to a conflict take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm – these are not simply suggestions or recommendations, but binding obligations carrying legal responsibility for those involved,” Turk said.
“And as if all these casualty figures weren’t horrifying enough on their own, following these attacks, Russian officials have publicly threatened to increase attacks across Kyiv.”
“I deplore the recent loss of civilian lives and injuries to civilians,” the UN figure said, adding: “I strongly urge restraint. Resume negotiations and end the suffering.”
US-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia have largely stalled after Donald Trump’s focus moved to his own war in Iran.
But Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy tried to grab Trump’s attention again by asking the US for more ammunition to counter Russian ballistic missiles.
In a letter earlier this week addressed to Trump and the US Congress, Zelenskyy said this would be a “vital tool of protection against Russian terror”.
Putin is also said to be going “backwards on the battlefield” and struggling to keep up with his war of attrition, according the head of the UK intelligence agency GCHQ, Anna Keast-Butler.
She noted almost 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the war began, a shocking stat which backs up Putin’s reputation for “meat grinder” tactics.
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