Officer-in-charge for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Kayoko Gotoh
Remarks to the Security Council on the situation in Ukraine
New York, 20 November 2025
Mr. President,
Ukrainian civilians have continued to bear the brunt of the Russian Federation’s escalating aerial campaign.
Large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have caused widespread and prolonged emergency power outages across most regions of the country, leaving millions without heating, water or public transportation as temperatures plummet.
Hospitals, residential buildings, railways, schools, cultural sites, diplomatic facilities, and even kindergartens have been hit.
Most of the civilian casualties and damage continue to be reported in areas close to the frontline, namely in the Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy and Donetsk regions of Ukraine. But the increased use of long-range weapons by the Russian Federation has placed many more civilians at risk. No region of Ukraine is safe.
Just yesterday, at least 26 people, including three children, were reportedly killed in a Russian drone and missile attack on the western city of Ternopil. Dozens more, including children, were reportedly injured. Many remain missing under the rubble.
This was one of the war’s deadliest strikes on civilians.
In addition, two other western regions - Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk – were also hit. In the northeast, at least 46 people, including two children, were reportedly injured in a drone strike on the city of Kharkiv.
We reiterate the Secretary-General’s strong condemnation of all such indiscriminate attacks against civilians.
Yesterday’s appalling strike follows another massive attack on 14 November, in which hundreds of Russian drones and many missiles hit Kyiv, reportedly killing at least six people and injuring many others.
The attack also damaged the Embassy of Azerbaijan, making it the second incident to impact diplomatic premises in the capital in recent months.
The same day, Russian strikes also shook the Odesa region, reportedly killing two civilians there.
We are concerned over the alarming increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine, with the overall figure from January to October 2025 already exceeding the total for all of last year.
In Kyiv, the number of civilian casualties was nearly 3.8 times higher in the first ten months of 2025 than in all of 2024.
According to figures confirmed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights , since the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, 14,534 Ukrainian civilians, including 745 children, have been killed. 38,472 more civilians, including 2,375 children, have been injured.
The war is reported to be increasingly affecting civilian populations inside the Russian Federation, too.
According to Russian authorities, in 2025 Ukrainian drone strikes have killed 392 people, including 22 children, in the Russian Federation and in the areas of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation.
The United Nations is not in a position to verify or confirm these reports and figures.
There are also reports of escalating Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy and industrial facilities.
We recall that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law.
They are unacceptable, wherever they occur, and must stop immediately.
In this context, since the escalation of the attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the United Nations, through the United Nations Development Programme, has continued to work with the Government of Ukraine to increase the resilience and sustainability of the country’s energy sector. UN support has benefited over 6 million people, enabling continued access to electricity, heating, water, and sanitation in severely affected regions.
My colleague from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Edem Wosornu, will brief on the humanitarian situation and operations. This includes updates on the alarming security threats faced by humanitarian workers, including the attack that on 14 October hit a clearly marked UN humanitarian convoy.
Mr. President,
The past months have once again highlighted the fragility of nuclear safety and security during an active war.
On 23 September, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost all its off-site power for the tenth time since February 2022.
After a month-long outage, on 23 October, the Plant was successfully re-connected to Ukraine’s electrical grid. The required repairs were carried out under the protection of a local ceasefire negotiated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and observed by its teams on the ground.
We commend the efforts of the IAEA and continue to urge the sides to act responsibly. Any nuclear incident would have unimaginable consequences not only for Ukraine and the Russian Federation, but far beyond. Such risk must be avoided at all costs.
Mr. President,
In all his engagements during the General Assembly, the Secretary-General spared no effort to focus attention on the war in Ukraine and to uphold the UN’s principled position in support of a just peace.
As we meet today, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo is wrapping up a visit to Ukraine.
She traveled to Kyiv to ensure continued attention on developments in Ukraine, and to personally reiterate the Secretary-General’s message of the UN’s unwavering solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Mr. President,
Earlier this year, we were encouraged by the resumption of diplomatic efforts towards a ceasefire and a search for lasting peace.
Nearly four years into this war, as the attacks escalate and casualties grow, and calls for an immediate and complete ceasefire increase, such efforts are even more critical. We urge concerted and inclusive diplomatic efforts resulting in tangible progress towards a just and lasting peace.
The alternative is to risk letting the war prolong, expand and escalate further to even more dangerous levels.
We also encourage the Russian Federation and Ukraine to continue working to secure further exchanges of prisoners of war, releases of civilian detainees and return of Ukrainian children. In this regard, we take note of today’s exchange of mortal remains between the sides.
I would like to conclude by reiterating the Secretary-General’s repeated call for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as a first step towards a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace in Ukraine.
This means a peace that fully upholds Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, in line with the UN Charter, international law and relevant UN resolutions.
The United Nations stands ready to support all meaningful efforts to that end.
Thank you.