Ukraine Conflict ‘Worse Than Ever’, Political Affairs Chief Tells Security Council, as Speakers Call for Accountability, End to ‘Immense’ Suffering

Far from abating, fighting in Ukraine is "worse than ever", Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council today, as delegates considered the increasingly bloody and protracted war against the backdrop of a new Middle East conflict vying for their attention.

"It is over four years since the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine," Ms. DiCarlo recalled: "Nearly 1,500 days of death, destruction and despair."

Since the start of the conflict in February 2022, she said, the UN has verified that over 15,000 civilians in Ukraine have been killed and more than 42,000 injured. In February alone, at least 188 civilians were killed and 757 injured - a 45 per cent increase over the same period in 2025.

Recently, deadly strikes were reported from Zaporizhzhia to Odesa, she said, as well as on railway infrastructure and passenger trains. Ukraine estimates that 60 per cent of its gas production capacity has been destroyed and all of its power stations damaged.

Noting that Ukraine will need $588 billion over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction, she declared: "[That recovery] should also be accompanied by a reckoning for the atrocities perpetrated during the war." That includes the deportation, forcible transfer and enforced disappearance of Ukrainian children, which an Independent Commission of Inquiry recently concluded were war crimes.

Echoing many of those points, Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said Ukrainians are under "constant" strain. "The damage builds quietly but relentlessly alongside the visible destruction," he acknowledged. Notably, strikes on energy and other vital infrastructure cut many Ukrainian civilians off from the basics of survival - no electricity, water or heat - for weeks on end during a "cruel" winter.

"These attacks reflect a sustained pattern of damage to the systems on which civilians depend to survive, with humanitarian aid increasingly stepping in to fill the gaps left by the deterioration of essential services," he said. Despite immense risks, UN staff and local partners reached nearly 1 million people with food, cash assistance, medical care, shelter and protection in January alone.

Speakers Reject Moscow's Maximalist Demands, Call for Accountability

In the ensuing debate, Council members laid out their positions on the conflict -- as well as the halting diplomatic attempts to end it - in the context of an increasingly unstable geopolitical landscape.

"Russia is now firing over 5,000 drones per month at Ukraine, five times higher than in 2024," the United Kingdom's representative warned. "The burden on ordinary Ukrainians is immense." While Moscow could end the war today, he said, it has only dragged out talks, issued "ultra-maximalist demands" and intensified its assault.

Several delegates - especially those from European nations - also laid the blame for four years of bloody conflict squarely at the feet of the Russian Federation.

"Ending this war depends entirely on the aggressor," underscored the representative of Latvia, echoed by the representatives of Estonia, Poland, European Union and Finland, who also spoke for Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Pointing out that Ukraine has demonstrated its readiness for a ceasefire for over a year, Latvia's delegate asked: "Has Russia demonstrated the same?" The Council must take a firm stance by condemning Moscow's unlawful, unprovoked war and preventing any future aggression.

The representatives of France and Denmark were among those speakers who focused on the recently released findings of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which found that Moscow had committed crimes against humanity by abducting Ukrainian children. The latter pointed out that some 80 per cent of documented deported children remain separated from their loved ones after more than four years, stressing: "Children must never be pawns in war."

Kyiv Stands with Gulf countries, Moscow Denounces 'Limelight' Grab

Ukraine's delegate expressed solidarity with the Gulf countries now facing a fresh conflict. Highlighting the Russian Federation's hidden role in the region, he said Moscow has been providing substantial military support to the Iranian regime. While it portrays itself "as a big friend of the Global South", in fact, it is helping Iran ruin oil and gas-production facilities in the region and providing Tehran with intelligence support.

Rejecting the many allegations levelled at his country, the representative of the Russian Federation described today's meeting as an attempt by Kyiv to keep itself relevant, even as a war that truly requires the Council's attention now rages in the Middle East. "The regime in Kyiv is no longer in the limelight," he said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is now straining "to remind his Western sponsors how useful he is, at any cost", he continued, adding: "It's increasingly obvious that the current Ukrainian authorities are interested in neither peace talks nor the basic humanitarian steps which could ease people's suffering." In fact, Kyiv's actions - or lack thereof - speak louder than its words.

Knock-On Effects in Africa, Middle East

Some speakers emphasized that negotiated talks between the two parties, which have begun and stalled several times in recent months, are needed now more than ever.

The representatives of Somalia, Bahrain, China, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo voiced support for that process, with the latter describing some "encouraging signals" of progress in February. "This conflict is also still having ramifications far beyond its particular theatre," she said, noting that it is worsening economic and food vulnerabilities, especially in African countries that rely heavily on imports.

On the spiraling conflict in the Middle East, the representative of Pakistan declared: "Regrettably, the unfolding of another totally avoidable crisis in the Middle East has also impacted the ongoing negotiations process on Ukraine." Despite that complex landscape, he expressed hope that the next round of talks would take place soon and bring about an immediate ceasefire and a lasting, negotiated peace.

Indeed, said Greece's delegate, the dramatic events in the Middle East "should not divert our focus and attention from Ukraine". Panama's delegate, meanwhile, voiced concern that the overlapping conflicts and increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape are compromising the ability of the international community - and the Council - to respond.

Liberia's representative agreed, adding that Council members must guard against a situation where they remain actively seized of the matter in form, but less effective in advancing conditions for resolution in substance. "The value of our engagement must ultimately be measured by its contribution to de-escalation and to a viable political horizon," he said.

The representative of the United States, Council President for March, said in his national capacity that his Government continues to pursue a deal to end the war. However, others must not sit on the sidelines. He asked Council members to consider whether their speeches today are likely to advance a peaceful solution, or whether they are mere words unable to yield any tangible results. He voiced his hope that the United States' presidency can "mark a moment where the UN produces more than words and actually creates a pathway for peace".