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STORY: UN / UKRAINE
TRT: 04:39
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / RUSSIAN / NATS
DATELINE: 20 JUNE 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
20 JUNE 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“According to Ukrainian authorities, between 1 and 17 June 2025, Russian armed forces launched at least 3,340 long-range drones, including loitering munitions and decoy drones, and 135 missiles into Ukraine. By comparison, 544 long-range munitions were launched during the entire month of June 2024.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“Let me once again unequivocally state - attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law, wherever they occur. We condemn all such attacks. They must cease immediately.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“On 2 June, Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their second face-to-face meeting in Istanbul, where they reportedly exchanged written memoranda outlining their respective visions for a ceasefire and parameters for a future peace settlement. The talks also resulted in an agreement for large-scale exchanges of prisoners of war and of mortal remains, as well as civilian detainees. The exchanges have been carried out in phases in the weeks since then. Earlier today, the latest round of exchanges of severely sick and wounded took place.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Nearly 50 per cent more civilians have been killed and injured in Ukraine in the first five months of 2025 than during the same period in 2024. The UN Mine Action Service estimates that over 20 per cent of Ukraine’s land is contaminated by mines or unexploded ordnances, making it the most heavily contaminated country since World War II.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“The reported use of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions is of special concern because of their notorious indiscriminate and long-term effects. These weapons must be relegated to the past. Furthermore, in light of recent announcements to withdraw from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Secretary-General recalled this week that “when civilians face heightened risks from widening conflicts, it is imperative that we strengthen the frameworks that protect human life and dignity.’”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Dorothy Shea, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, United States:
“Russia is killing Ukrainian civilians when it should be doing the exact opposite – ending the war. Russia must stop the killing of civilians and the destruction of their homes, schools, and playgrounds. It is now 116 days since this Council adopted a resolution imploring a swift end to the conflict and urging a lasting peace between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Russia’s actions, however, oppose that goal.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Russian Federation:
“Since the very beginning of the Special Military Operation, Russia has remained open to dialogue and to seeking ways to address the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis through peaceful means. We reaffirm this position today. The only thing that can still save Ukraine from complete catastrophe is an immediate move toward constructive and realistic negotiations. We propose holding the next round of talks in Istanbul after June 22. We are grateful to our American colleagues who have consistently supported our direct dialogue with Ukraine.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrii Melnyk, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ukraine:
“It's not a war fought in trenches. This Russian war is waged in bedrooms, this Russian war is a war in kitchens, war in playgrounds, war in hospitals, in schools. This is pure terror that never sleeps, terror that steals tomorrow before the dawn can break. This madness…this madness has to stop.”
18. Wide shot, end of 9940th Security Council meeting
“Let me once again unequivocally state - attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law, wherever they occur. We condemn all such attacks,” Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča told the Security Council while briefing on the situation in Ukraine. UNIFEED
Condemning the sharp rise in strikes across Ukraine this month Jenča said that between 1 and 17 June 2025, “Russian armed forces launched at least 3,340 long-range drones, including loitering munitions and decoy drones, and 135 missiles into Ukraine.” He compared the figure to “544 long-range munitions launched during the entire month of June 2024,” calling the increase “alarming.”
Further briefing the Security Council today (20 Jun), Jenča confirmed that Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their second in-person meeting in Istanbul on 2 June, where they exchanged written proposals on a ceasefire and possible parameters for a future peace settlement. “The talks also resulted in an agreement for large-scale exchanges of prisoners of war and of mortal remains, as well as civilian detainees,” Jenča said. He added, “Earlier today, the latest round of exchanges of severely sick and wounded took place.”
Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the humanitarian toll has worsened dramatically. “Nearly 50 per cent more civilians have been killed and injured in Ukraine in the first five months of 2025 than during the same period in 2024,” she said.
Wosornu also warned that “over 20 per cent of Ukraine’s land is contaminated by mines or unexploded ordnances, making it the most heavily contaminated country since World War II.” She raised concerns over the reported use of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, calling them “notorious” for their “indiscriminate and long-term effects.”
She echoed the Secretary-General’s call to uphold existing conventions: “When civilians face heightened risks from widening conflicts, it is imperative that we strengthen the frameworks that protect human life and dignity.”
U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said, “Russia is killing Ukrainian civilians when it should be doing the exact opposite – ending the war.” She stressed that despite the Council's adoption of a resolution 116 days ago urging a peaceful resolution, “Russia's actions, however, oppose that goal.”
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said, “Since the very beginning of the Special Military Operation, Russia has remained open to dialogue and to seeking ways to address the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis through peaceful means. We reaffirm this position today.”
The Ukrainian representative, Andrii Melnyk said, “It's not a war fought in trenches. This Russian war is waged in bedrooms, this Russian war is a war in kitchens, war in playgrounds, war in hospitals, in schools. This is pure terror that never sleeps, terror that steals tomorrow before the dawn can break. This madness…this madness has to stop.”
