UN Demands Justice in Any Ukraine Peace Talks, Citing Heavy Civilian Toll

The United Nations insisted on Tuesday that any peace talks on Russia’s war in Ukraine must include full accountability for the conflict’s litany of violations, following the deadliest month for civilians since May 2022.

The call from UN rights chief Volker Turk came the day after US President Donald Trump told Moscow to end the war within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions.

He also laid out plans for infusions of weaponry for Kyiv via NATO.

“An immediate ceasefire is needed now to end this unbearable suffering,” Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for Turk’s office, told a media briefing.

“The Russian Federation’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine must urgently be halted,” she said.

“Work on a lasting peace, in line with international law must intensify -- a peace that ensures accountability for gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law.”

Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

In recent weeks, Trump has shown increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Moscow has stepped up attacks rather than halting them.

“July has brought no respite for civilians in Ukraine, after June which, according to our monitoring in Ukraine, saw the highest monthly number of civilian deaths and injuries in three years -- with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured,” said Throssell.

Other Topics of Interest

Intent in Plain Sight: the Politics of a UN-Recognized Genocide

With the help of semantic sleight of hand, the UN seems to be underplaying what is clearly a genocide in Ukraine. Indicators point to a potential power struggle and political pressure within the highest levels of the UN to artificially reduce the gravity of genocide to “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity,” avoiding mentioning and examining “intent,” isolating the crimes, and switching provisions specific to children.

According to the UN rights office’s latest information, so far this month at least 139 civilians have reportedly been killed and 791 wounded in Ukraine, she said.

She cited “intense and successive waves of missile and drone strikes” launched by Russian forces.

The United Nations acknowledges that the true toll will be far higher than the deaths and injuries it has been able to verify to its own standards.