Security Council alarmed: Escalating Civilian attacks in Ukraine war
Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General at the UN Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, declared, “We condemn all attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.” “They must cease immediately; they are unacceptable and prohibited by international law.” He pointed to the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, which has been the target of deadly missile and drone assaults on a regular basis in recent days and weeks, saying, “Unfortunately, our repeated calls for protection of civilians appear to fall on deaf ears.” According to Mr. Khiari, there have also been fresh reports of civilian fatalities in the Ukrainian areas of Kharkiv, Donetsk, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia as the full-scale Russian invasion approaches its third year.
Current situation in Ukraine
Furthermore, he mentioned that reports indicate “the fighting is spreading to new residential areas in the east of Ukraine,” noting that since the start of the conflict, Russian forces have completely or nearly completely destroyed a number of villages, towns, and cities, including those in Mariupol, Bakhmut, Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, Volnovakha, and most recently Avdiivka. Speaking of additional grave worries, he described as “deeply disturbing” news that Russia intends to hold its presidential elections in March in the parts of Ukraine that it presently controls. He remarked, “The UN General Assembly has also declared that the attempted illegal annexations of Ukrainian territory have no validity under international law.” “Ukraine, Europe, and the world have paid a heavy price for the past two years of war,” he declared. “We cannot allow more suffering, death, or destruction from this war to occur.”
Security Council’s response
Speaking on behalf of UN emergency relief head Martin Griffiths, she stated that the most recent round of escalatory strikes in the midst of a hard winter demonstrates how the conflict continues to wreak unimaginable human misery, death, and damage on the people of Ukraine. “International humanitarian law forbids attacks against civilians and civilian objects,” she said. “Parties to the conflict must take constant care to spare all civilians and civilian objects, including infrastructure essential for civilian survival. Indiscriminate attacks are also strictly prohibited.” In honor of them on this International Women’s Day, she said that the conflict is having a particularly negative effect on women and girls in Ukraine, calling the rise in gender-based violence against them “a shocking hallmark of this war.”
Humanitarian crisis
She regretted to mention that, according to the UN reproductive health organization UNFPA, one-third of women-led families in Ukraine struggle to feed themselves, and sixty percent of elderly women are unable to pay for their own basic requirements. “Sadly, many of the 2.5 million people who are expected to experience gender-based violence in the upcoming year will not have access to services they need due to a lack of sufficient resources to sustain and expand a network of medical and social care services,” the speaker stated. She stated, “The UN and its partners continue to do everything we can to provide humanitarian assistance to millions of people across Ukraine in spite of the ongoing and deteriorating security situation,” underlining the risks of delivering aid near the front lines and pointing out that two humanitarian workers had died and ten had been injured in 2024 alone. She stated, “We are deeply concerned about the fate of civilians in these territories whom we are unable to reach at any adequate scale, as hostilities continue to escalate.” This includes the denial of humanitarian access to the areas of Donetsk, Kherson, and Luhansk that are under Russian occupation.
Violations of International law
“There are an estimated 1.5 million people who need life-saving assistance there, and the consequences are unthinkable and avoidable,” the speaker stated. She also mentioned that international humanitarian law obliges all parties to permit and facilitate the swift and unhindered delivery of humanitarian relief to those in need and to make sure that relief workers have the freedom of movement necessary to carry out their jobs. “It is time to bring the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine and the suffering of the Ukrainian people to an end,” she said, adding that the UN and its assistance partners are still dedicated to protecting civilians’ lives and dignity “for as long as it takes, but it has gone on too long.”
In conclusion, While some speakers emphasized the need to refocus efforts on diplomacy and dialogue, many delegates called for the Russian Federation to withdraw from all of Ukraine, expressed concern over the humanitarian effects of the war, and stressed the need for unhindered humanitarian access during the harsh winter conditions.