The United States delivered a sharp warning to the Kremlin at the UN Security Council on Monday, saying Russia’s window for improving its position in Ukraine is narrowing and urging Moscow to make a deal to end the war.
“As President Trump made clear during the G7 Summit last week: Russia should make a deal. Time is not on Moscow’s side,” said Den Negri, the United States’ Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
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The remarks came as Washington sought to reinforce the G7 message on Russia, while UN officials warned of a sharp rise in civilian casualties from Moscow’s intensified attacks.
Negri argued that Russia is paying an increasingly unsustainable price to maintain its war effort.
“Russia is taking 40,000 casualties per month. Its economy is severely strained. Ukraine is innovating quickly,” he said.
“Diplomacy and negotiation, not more bloodshed, are the only answer. Nothing else will stop this senseless killing. This war has gone on for far too long, and it must end.”
Deadliest month for civilians since 2022
The Security Council session was convened to address Russia’s latest wave of attacks on Ukraine, including strikes that damaged civilian infrastructure and cultural heritage sites.
UN officials said May was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since April 2022, as Russia intensified missile and drone attacks across the country.
1 Killed, 14 Wounded in Russian Strikes Across Dnipropetrovsk Region
According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 274 civilians were killed and 1,763 were wounded in May, marking the highest combined monthly civilian casualty toll in four years. OHCHR said the figure represented a 93 percent increase compared with May 2025 and a 23 percent increase from April 2026.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Mohamed Khaled Khiari said Russia’s June 17 strikes hit Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Mykolaiv regions.
He also warned that sites of exceptional historical and cultural value had been damaged, including the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site. A drone also struck the Kharkiv Art Museum, according to Ukrainian and UN reporting.
UNESCO says more than 530 cultural sites in Ukraine have been damaged since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The UN has confirmed at least 16,126 civilian deaths in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war, including 796 children. Another 46,590 civilians have been wounded, including 2,835 children. UN officials have repeatedly stressed that the real toll is likely higher.
With Russia facing mounting battlefield and economic costs, Negri ended with a blunt reminder: “Time is not on Moscow’s side.”
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