Addressing the Security Council in New York on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the war in Ukraine was entering a dangerous phase after Russia’s latest large-scale missile and drone strikes, saying the escalation “risks to get out of control,” AFP reported.
“The death spiral must stop. What is needed now is de-escalation – immediate and sustained,” Guterres said, urging restraint, renewed diplomacy, and a return to negotiations.
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Guterres pointed to large-scale Russian strikes across Ukraine on May 23-24 and warned that the prospect of further attacks raised the risk of miscalculation and escalation with “unknown and unintended consequences.”
The appeal came days after one of the worst combined missile and drone attacks on Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than four years ago. The strike was the latest in a series of major Russian attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also urged restraint, warning that civilians were paying an increasingly heavy price.
“I strongly urge restraint. Resume negotiations and end the suffering,” Turk said in a statement.
The UN Human Rights Office said 815 civilians were killed and 4,174 were injured in Ukraine in the first four months of 2026, a 21 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
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“As if all these casualty figures weren’t horrifying enough on their own, following these attacks, Russian officials have publicly threatened to increase attacks across Kyiv,” Turk said.
He warned that international humanitarian law requires all parties to take feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm.
“These are not simply suggestions or recommendations, but binding obligations carrying legal responsibility for those involved,” Turk said.
The UN rights office also pointed to a Ukrainian strike on what it described as an educational complex in the occupied city of Starobilsk on May 21-22. Russian authorities said 21 people were killed and 44 were injured.
Turk called on both Russian and Ukrainian authorities to conduct “prompt, independent, and effective investigations” and hold those responsible accountable.
Ukraine, however, has said the Starobilsk site was not a civilian educational complex but an elite Russian drone warfare facility used to train and coordinate operators involved in attacks on Ukrainian cities. Kyiv maintains that the strike targeted a legitimate military site.
On Tuesday, a global coalition of more than 50 countries at the Security Council condemned Russia’s latest mass attacks, threats against diplomatic missions in Kyiv, and use of nuclear-capable weapons. The coalition said Moscow’s strikes underscored the need for stronger international pressure on Russia to halt attacks on civilians and end its war against Ukraine.
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