GENEVA

Civilian suffering in Ukraine has risen sharply this year, with casualties up 30% compared to 2024, the UN’s top humanitarian official in the country said Friday.

Matthias Schmale told reporters in Geneva that 2025 has been deadlier than 2024 for civilians, as hostilities have intensified across the country.

One third of all civilian deaths and injuries recorded this year were caused by drone attacks, reflecting the growing dangers of modern warfare for civilians and aid workers, he added.

No region has been spared since mid-2025, Schmale said, highlighting the situation in Donetsk, where about 3,000 people remain in Pokrovsk “under daily shelling and at the mercy of urban fighting.”

Since February 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has documented at least 14,383 civilians killed in Ukraine, including 738 children, and 37,541 injured.

This year, more than 57,000 evacuees have sought humanitarian support – nearly 20% of them recorded in August alone – according to the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA.

Attacks on healthcare are also surging. The World Health Organization recorded 364 strikes on medical facilities between January and October.

A children’s hospital in Kherson was damaged this week, injuring six people, while a seven-year-old girl later died in Vinnytsia following another attack.

As winter approaches, repeated strikes on energy infrastructure have plunged parts of the country into blackouts. The UN’s 2025–2026 Winter Response Plan aims to assist 1.7 million people but remains only 50% funded, according to OCHA.

Schmale urged all parties to respect international humanitarian law and appealed for stronger donor support to sustain lifesaving operations.