Ukraine: danger is only increasing, warns UN human rights office

(UN News) More than four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the “danger is only increasing”, particularly from attack drones, a top UN human rights official warned on Thursday. “During the first two months of this year, 60 per cent of all civilian casualties were in frontline regions (and) almost half of those killed were older persons,” said Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif. In a scheduled update on the war to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Ms. Al-Nashif noted that the leading cause of death and injury was “attacks involving short-range drones” in both Ukrainian government-controlled areas and territory occupied by Russia. UN data shows that in 2025, at least 580 civilians were killed and 3,000 injured in such attacks. But in just the first two months of this year, 107 civilians were killed and 430 injured, representing a near-doubling of the casualty rate. A full 95 per cent of casualties were caused by short-range drones targeting Government-controlled territory, the Deputy High Commissioner added. – Ukraine: danger is only increasing, warns UN human rights office | UN News