Country: Ukraine Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Please refer to the attached file. New York, 8 June 2026 Mr. President, Building on the political and security developments outlined by my colleague from the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs [Under Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo], allow me to highlight the humanitarian realities we are seeing across Ukraine. The past week has brought another surge in civilian casualties and suffering. Between last Friday and the early hours of today, at least 30 civilians were reported killed and over 200 injured across Ukraine. Civilians, including families and children, have been killed in their homes, injured on their way to work, and cut off from essential services. The scale and intensity of the attacks on major centres is increasing. Strikes have hit cities including Dnipro and Kyiv, bringing the war further into populated urban areas. Communities are still grappling with the consequences of the 2 June attack on Kyiv, one of the most significant attacks on the capital since February 2022. Hospitals, schools, humanitarian personnel and premises, including a UN office in Kyiv, were impacted. Along the front line, attacks continue to kill and injure civilians, damage homes and essential civilian infrastructure, and force families to make impossible choices: stay and risk your life or leave everything behind. We are also concerned by reports of civilian casualties in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Wherever hostilities occur, the result is the same: more civilian suffering. Humanitarian workers are not insulated from these attacks. Over the weekend in Government-controlled Kherson region, seven humanitarian vehicles were damaged during several attacks, injuring aid workers and volunteers and damaging clearly marked humanitarian assets. Last week, in the Government-controlled Donetsk region, a vehicle belonging to a humanitarian organisation was struck and heavily damaged while supporting civilians affected by the war. It follows a series of incidents that have been reported to this Council in the recent weeks. So far this year, three humanitarian workers have been killed and 32 injured. Such attacks are unacceptable. International humanitarian law is very clear: civilians and civilian objects, including humanitarian personnel and assets, must be protected. These rules exist to limit suffering and preserve dignity precisely when there is war, and they must be respected. Accountability for violations and measures to prevent them are essential. Mr. President, The humanitarian consequences of hostilities extend well beyond immediate civilian harm. They are measured in communities becoming harder to reach, harder to support with assistance, and harder to protect. When humanitarian operations are interrupted and impeded, supplies don’t get through, life-saving services are suspended, humanitarian evacuations come to a halt. Civilians lose a lifeline. The impact is immediate, and the consequences can be deadly. Mr. President, In frontline areas, our humanitarian partners continue to evacuate civilians who wish to leave and to deliver essential assistance – but our ability to do so is shrinking. Hostilities, including the growing use of armed drones, create a daily dilemma: how to remain present where needs are greatest while keeping humanitarian personnel and assets safe. If humanitarians stay away, some communities become progressively more isolated, cut off from medical care, protection services, humanitarian assistance and evacuation support precisely when they need them most. Mr. President, International humanitarian law is unequivocal in demanding the protection of civilians and the facilitation of rapid, unimpeded humanitarian relief for civilians in need, wherever they are. In line with this, our own offer remains unchanged. OCHA is ready to work – discreetly – with both parties on practical humanitarian arrangements that help civilians who are trapped along the front line receive aid and voluntarily move to safer areas. Time is of the essence to reduce suffering and improve humanitarian access. Mr. President, Ukraine remains one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Today, 10.8 million people require humanitarian assistance. Yet we have received less than half the funding needed to reach them. We recognise the enormous pressures on humanitarian budgets as crises continue to emerge and deepen around the world. But needs in Ukraine have not diminished. For communities in need, funding is the difference between help reaching them or not. It allows humanitarian organisations to remain present, respond rapidly and support those facing the greatest risks. Mr. President, My asks to this Council are straightforward. First, use all your influence to reverse the erosion of the protection for civilians. Do not allow this level of civilian harm and suffering to become the new normal. Second, help preserve and expand our humanitarian operations to reach civilians in need wherever they are. Where access is possible, it must be safeguarded. Where it is impeded, it is vital to open it. Thirdly, ensure humanitarian organizations have the funding needed to remain present where needs are greatest. Mr. President, The war continues to cause deep suffering for millions of people across Ukraine. But suffering must be reduced. Civilians must be protected. And lives must be saved. We urge all those with influence: please use it. Thank you.