Türk: War in Ukraine a “human rights catastrophe” — over 400 civilians killed or injured every week in 2026

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called the war in Ukraine a “human rights catastrophe” and appealed for a “decisive turn” toward de-escalation and peace.

Speaking before the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 2 October, as UN News reports, Türk said his office has verified around 15,280 civilians killed or injured in Ukraine during the first eight months of 2026 — on average more than 400 a week for 34 straight weeks, 55% more than in the same period of 2025.

“The full-scale invasion launched by the Russian Federation is killing and injuring hundreds of people every week, while the front lines barely move,” Türk said, noting that residential buildings, schools, medical centres, railways and shops have been hit in the latest attacks. He accused Russian forces of increasing attacks on energy infrastructure, supermarkets, food companies and transport networks.

Russian aerial glide bombs killed or injured nearly 2,500 civilians in the first eight months of the year in the regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia alone — 62% more than a year earlier. “Ukraine is a laboratory of drone warfare,” Türk said, calling for urgent international action over the “carnage” caused by these weapons systems around the world.

His office’s latest report found “shocking levels of sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war”: of more than 1,000 documented cases, 89% are attributed to the Russian authorities and 11% to Ukraine. “This is only one horrifying manifestation of the cruelty that has come to define this war. Alongside peace, there must be accountability,” Türk said.

The Commissioner called for confidence-building measures: agreements to end attacks on economic targets and energy infrastructure, local ceasefires along the front lines, a full exchange of prisoners of war — and he urged influential states to take “urgent action to press for a negotiated peace now, before this tragedy becomes even worse.”