‘Instead of Steps towards Peace, We Have Witnessed a Brutal Surge in Large-Scale Russian Attacks Across’ Ukraine, Under-Secretary-General Tells Security Council
Rather than progress towards peace following direct negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in Istanbul earlier in May, the Security Council heard today that the month’s closing days have instead witnessed Moscow intensify attacks on its neighbour.
“Instead of steps towards peace, we have witnessed a brutal surge in large-scale Russian attacks across the country,” reported Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. Following three consecutive nights of Russian Federation attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns with “record numbers” of long-range missiles and drones, she said that another attack on 26 May — which employed 355 drones — was, according to Ukrainian officials, the largest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion. “This topped the previous record from the night before,” she observed.
She added that, on 17 May — hours after delegations from Moscow and Kyiv met in Istanbul — a Russian Federation drone strike on a bus reportedly killed nine civilians and injured seven others. “The overall security situation so far in 2025 is significantly worse than in the same period last year,” she emphasized. She also noted that, according to the Russian Federation Foreign Ministry, Russian civilians have been killed and injured by Ukrainian strikes. “If confirmed, these figures serve as a vivid reminder of the rising civilian toll of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — most egregiously in Ukraine, but also increasingly in the Russian Federation itself.”
Yet, she noted that this latest escalation follows some “significant” diplomatic developments, including the first direct negotiations in three years in Istanbul on 16 May and the recent exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war on each side. While the hope that the parties will be able to negotiate is “still alive, but just barely”, she stressed that “serious, demonstrable and good-faith efforts are needed”. A full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire is one such effort and, while a peace process will not be easy and will take time, it cannot wait. “The people of Ukraine, especially, cannot wait,” she said.
Detailing their plight was Lisa Doughten, Director of the Financing and Partnerships Division in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: “There is no respite for civilians in Ukraine.” She noted the extreme strain on healthcare in conflict zones like Kharkiv and Donetsk, with over 200 verified attacks on medical facilities in 2025. Further, more than 3.7 million people have been displaced, including over 5,000 newly so just last week due to escalating violence. “The humanitarian response continues to serve as a vital lifeline for millions,” she observed.
Also voicing concern over the 1.5 million civilians in areas occupied by the Russian Federation, she cautioned: “These communities remain largely out of reach for humanitarian actors — not due to a lack of capacity or will, but because of persistent impediments to humanitarian access.” Nevertheless, 440 humanitarian organizations have provided life-saving assistance to 3.1 million people across Ukraine despite escalating challenges. But only a quarter of the $2.6 billion needed for 2025 has been funded, forcing cuts in essential services. She warned: “Without urgent support, core programmes risk being suspended — just as needs are rising.”
“Each time we meet, we are briefed about the worsening situation as lives and livelihoods continue to be shattered,” observed the representative of Guyana. She urged: “It is time that this cycle be broken, and progress is made towards ending this war.” Slovenia’s representative, similarly, pointed out: “With death and destruction on the rise, the need for diplomacy is obvious.” Yet, while continuously claiming that it wants peace, Moscow has torpedoed all efforts to stop the fighting. “Ukraine is ready to silence the guns; Russia is not,” he said.
Along those lines, the representative of Greece — Council President for May — spoke in his national capacity to express regret that recent peace efforts have not produced any breakthrough. “On the contrary, they have so far further confirmed Russia’s intransigence,” he emphasized. “Presented with another opportunity for meaningful progress towards peace, [Russian Federation President Vladimir] Putin chose war,” stressed the representative of the United Kingdom, who named three young Ukrainians killed in recent Russian Federation strikes.
“Even more cynical”, added Denmark’s representative, “is the fact that some of these most deadly attacks took place while [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy was himself in Türkiye, ready and willing to engage in ceasefire talks”. Recalling a recent statement by her country’s Prime Minister, she said: “During the day, Putin talks about negotiations, then he bombs Ukraine during the night.” The representative of France, stressing that “every day, Russia chooses to continue its attack on Ukraine”, added that “no narrative can conceal this blatant fact”. He added: “Everyone wants a ceasefire in Ukraine — everyone except Russia.”
“If Russia makes the wrong decision to continue this catastrophic war, the United States will have to consider stepping back from our negotiation efforts to end this conflict,” said the latter’s representative. He added: “In doing so, we would not be abandoning our principles or our friends; rather, we would be recognizing Russia’s refusal to work with us toward a desirable outcome.” Calling on both sides to make the difficult, historic decision to pursue peace, he warned: “If one side proves unable or unwilling to do so, it will own the consequences.”
The representative of Pakistan was among those who urged diplomacy over escalation. “The fragile foundation of peace laid down by diplomatic efforts needs consolidation,” he said, taking note of the Russian Federation’s offer to hold a second round of direct negotiations in Istanbul. Somalia’s delegate welcomed such a meeting as an important opportunity to advance dialogue. The representative of Algeria, also calling for constructive talks, additionally urged the parties to “refrain from escalation” and “put an end to human suffering”.
China’s representative, too, called on the parties to “maintain the momentum of peace talks, address the root causes of the crisis and reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties concerned”. The representative of Sierra Leone concurred, also stating that the Council must support the parties in this regard — including in areas such as the Black Sea, which is vital to global commerce. Panama’s representative also spotlighted the war’s wider effects, stressing that its repercussions on global economies and supply chains “exacerbate the many crises we, as developing countries, face”.
“The war in Ukraine is not a distant or irrelevant conflict for the Republic of Korea,” added that country’s representative. The collusion between Pyongyang and Moscow undermines international law and threatens lives in both Ukraine and on the Korean Peninsula. Further, he stressed that the potential military assistance from the Russian Federation to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — and the combat experience being acquired by the latter’s troops — pose a serious threat.
Meanwhile, the Russian Federation’s representative stated that this meeting’s script was “clear and predictable”. It was not convened to resolve problems or achieve peace, he said: “The goal is to stop an image of a supposedly free and democratic Ukraine from being deflated.” It is becoming increasingly difficult for the West to “blow up this propaganda bubble”, he emphasized, due to the efforts of President Zelenskyy to stay in power and avoid the peace that would remove him from office. Further, he said that Ukraine is “asking us to believe that Russia is knowingly shelling Ukrainian cities” — instead of the damage resulting from Ukrainian air defences stationed near civilian areas.
The Russian Federation targets “exclusively facilities linked to Ukraine’s military-industrial complex”, he stated, and is only doing so in response to “massive and deliberate shelling on the part of the Kyiv regime on peaceable Russian cities”. Stressing that “the plans concocted by Zelenskyy and his accomplices is plain and clear — to trick and disorient [United States] President [Donald J.] Trump, who is taking decisive steps towards peace” — he said that Moscow will continue direct negotiations with Ukraine. “The ball is in Ukraine’s court,” he said — “either talks followed by peace, or the unavoidable defeat of Ukraine on the battlefield with different conditions for the conflict’s end”.
Ukraine’s representative, for her part, said: “Ukraine did not initiate this war, nor do we desire its continuation today.” While Moscow could end its aggression at any moment, it persistently rejects all credible paths to peace. Further, its actions “clearly indicate its unwillingness for peace”, she stressed, detailing the Russian Federation’s extensive attacks on her country during the former’s so-called, self-declared Easter ceasefire. Also pointing out that President Zelenskyy was in Türkiye, ready for talks, while President Putin failed to attend, she underscored: “It is not Ukraine or Western leaders who are undermining negotiations, as Russia claims.”
She went on to say that there is a need for a “meeting at the leaders’ level” to overcome the current diplomatic stalemate, stating that President Zelenskyy has repeatedly affirmed his readiness to meet with President Putin at any time, at any mutually agreeable location. “However, Russia is now trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupy more Ukrainian land,” she stressed. “Russia is facing a moment when it needs to prove its seriousness,” she added, calling for concrete decisions — first, an unconditional and complete ceasefire for at least 30 days. She stated: “Ukraine is ready to work for peace. Russia must also show that it is ready.”
The representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, similarly stated that Ukraine has demonstrated its willingness to accept a comprehensive ceasefire without preconditions, and now the Russian Federation must show its own willingness to do so. However, the representative of Estonia — also speaking for Latvia and Lithuania — compared the Russian Federation’s actions as of late to the Nazi tactic of carpet-bombing London in 1940–41 to terrorize the population and force surrender. “The Nazis failed, and so will Russia,” he said. For his part, Poland’s representative reaffirmed his country’s commitment to comprehensively support Ukraine for as long as necessary to uphold its right to self-defence.
“Peace cannot be dictated by the aggressor,” stressed the representative of the Czech Republic, who also observed that “the past several days have reminded us, yet again, of Russia’s true intentions”. While Moscow consistently claims that there are “root causes” behind its war on Ukraine — as if it were somehow forced to act — Iceland’s representative, also speaking for Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, said that this is a false narrative. “Russia made a deliberate choice to invade a sovereign nation,” she stressed, adding: “The neo-imperial and colonial ambitions of Russia have no place in the twenty-first century.”