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STORY: OHCHR / TURK UKRAINE
TRT: 05:05
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 16 DECEMBER 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations
2. Various shots, Assembly Hall
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Nearly four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the plight of civilians has become even more unbearable. This is confirmed by my Office’s latest report covering the period from 1 June to 30 November this year. As peace negotiations continue, our monitoring and reporting show that the war is intensifying, causing more death, damage, and destruction.”
4. Med shot, Assembly Hall
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Civilian casualties so far this year are 24 per cent higher than the same period last year, largely due to the Russian armed forces stepping up their use of long-range missiles and drones in frontline and urban areas. This escalation is a never-ending nightmare for the people of Ukraine.”
6. Med shot, Assembly Hall
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Between December 2024 and November 2025, there was a significant increase in the average daily number of long-range drones deployed by the Russian Federation. No part of the country is safe.”
8. Med shot, Assembly Hall
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“In one example, on 19 November 2025, the Russian Federation launched some 500 drones and missiles across Ukraine. A cruise missile struck a residential building in Ternopil, and a drone ignited a fire in another, together killing at least 38 civilians and injuring 99, with some civilians still missing. This was the deadliest attack in western Ukraine since the start of the war.”
10. Wide shot, Assembly Hall
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“In October and November, the Russian Federation launched eight large-scale coordinated attacks, causing prolonged emergency outages in some areas, and forcing scheduled power cuts across most regions for up to 18 hours a day.”
12. Med shot, Assembly Hall
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Winter is closing in - turning every power outage into a cold, frightening ordeal for families, older people, and people with disabilities. I would like to shine a light on the anguish of civilians in frontline communities, as Russian armed forces press forward.”
14. Close up, photographer
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The use by Russian forces of short-range drones equipped with first-person view cameras is causing significant civilian harm. They have struck people on bicycles, in cars, and on public buses, killing some 300 civilians during the reporting period.”
16. Wide shot, Assembly Hall
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Nearly half of the people killed in frontline areas are over 60 years old. Once again, the most vulnerable - including those who find it difficult or impossible to move from their homes - are bearing the brunt of war
18. Wide shot, Assembly Hall
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The fate of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees remains dire. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, my Office has documented the extrajudicial execution of 96 Ukrainian prisoners of war and people hors de combat.”
20. Wide shot, Assembly Hall
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“Perpetrators of all human rights and humanitarian law violations must be held accountable. I cannot even fathom the exhaustion of the people of Ukraine,”.”
22. Wide shot, Assembly Hall
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“As part of any negotiation for a ceasefire and sustainable peace, I encourage confidence-building measures that can reduce harm and build trust over the longer term. For example, as immediate measures, this would include commitments not to use long-range weapons and short-range drones in densely populated areas, and not to target critical energy infrastructure, such as electricity and heating. They would include commitments to exchange all prisoners of war and to release and return home all Ukrainian civilian detainees. These are just some of the measures that could be taken, and my Office is ready to support these efforts.”
24. Various shots, Assembly Hall
Volker Türk the UN Human Rights High Commissioner made the following remarks during and Oral Update on Ukraine to the Human Rights Council intersessional meeting today (16 Dec).
“Nearly four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the plight of civilians has become even more unbearable. This is confirmed by my Office’s latest report covering the period from 1 June to 30 November this year. As peace negotiations continue, our monitoring and reporting show that the war is intensifying, causing more death, damage, and destruction,” he stated.
Over the past four years, UN Human Rights staff have undertaken more than 1,150 missions to areas affected by the war and conducted more than 11,100 interviews about alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
“The picture that emerges is very disturbing. Civilian casualties so far this year are 24 per cent higher than the same period last year, largely due to the Russian armed forces stepping up their use of long-range missiles and drones in frontline and urban areas. This escalation is a never-ending nightmare for the people of Ukraine,” he said.
Attacks are occurring nationwide, including places in the west far from the frontline which previously were untouched by the fighting. “Between December 2024 and November 2025, there was a significant increase in the average daily number of long-range drones deployed by the Russian Federation. No part of the country is safe,” Türk said.
Adding: “In one example, on 19 November 2025, the Russian Federation launched some 500 drones and missiles across Ukraine. A cruise missile struck a residential building in Ternopil, and a drone ignited a fire in another, together killing at least 38 civilians and injuring 99, with some civilians still missing. This was the deadliest attack in western Ukraine since the start of the war.”
Throughout the year, the vast majority of civilians killed and injured were in territory controlled by Ukraine, and more than 60 percent were near the frontline.
The Russian Federation reports that 146 civilians were killed and more than 1,150 injured on its territory during the reporting period, but we have not been able to verify these figures.
Attacks on energy infrastructure persist across Ukraine, leaving people without heating, water, and public transport for extended periods of time. “In October and November, the Russian Federation launched eight large-scale coordinated attacks, causing prolonged emergency outages in some areas, and forcing scheduled power cuts across most regions for up to 18 hours a day,” the High Commissioner said.
“Winter is closing in - turning every power outage into a cold, frightening ordeal for families, older people, and people with disabilities. I would like to shine a light on the anguish of civilians in frontline communities, as Russian armed forces press forward,” he added.
“The use by Russian forces of short-range drones equipped with first-person view cameras is causing significant civilian harm. They have struck people on bicycles, in cars, and on public buses, killing some 300 civilians during the reporting period,” he stated
In his statement Volker Türk stated that aerial bombs and other munitions have damaged or destroyed residential buildings, hospitals, and schools, and triggered more displacement. The hostilities are preventing ambulances from reaching people in need in some frontline regions, and aid workers are risking their lives to help.
While many people have been evacuated from frontline cities and villages, some have been unable to leave. These are mainly older people and people with disabilities, whose evacuation is difficult because many transit centres lack appropriate facilities and there is a severe shortage of suitable housing.
“Nearly half of the people killed in frontline areas are over 60 years old. Once again, the most vulnerable - including those who find it difficult or impossible to move from their homes - are bearing the brunt of war,” he said.
“The fate of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees remains dire. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, my Office has documented the extrajudicial execution of 96 Ukrainian prisoners of war and people hors de combat,” Türk said.
Since mid-November, the UN Human Rights office has recorded an increase in reports of executions of Ukrainian service personnel. We assessed as credible the reported killing of 14 Ukrainian prisoners of war after capture by Russian forces, and we are looking into 10 other cases.
The High Commissioner called on the Russian Federation to stop the war, to respect international law and to protect civilians. I urge it to halt all extrajudicial executions, torture, ill-treatment, and sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilian detainees, and to respect and protect human rights in occupied territory.
He urged Ukraine to safeguard prisoners of war from torture and ill-treatment.
“Perpetrators of all human rights and humanitarian law violations must be held accountable. I cannot even fathom the exhaustion of the people of Ukraine,” he stated.
The High Commissioner suggested that as part of any negotiation for a ceasefire and sustainable peace, he encouraged confidence-building measures that can reduce harm and build trust over the longer term.
“For example, as immediate measures, this would include commitments not to use long-range weapons and short-range drones in densely populated areas, and not to target critical energy infrastructure, such as electricity and heating. They would include commitments to exchange all prisoners of war and to release and return home all Ukrainian civilian detainees. These are just some of the measures that could be taken, and my Office is ready to support these efforts,” he said.
