UN demands justice in any Ukraine peace talks, as civilian deaths spike
The call from UN rights chief Volker Turk came the day after US President Donald Trump told Moscow to end the war within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions.
Trump also laid out plans for infusions of weaponry for Kyiv via NATO.
In recent weeks, Trump has shown increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Moscow stepping up attacks rather than stopping them.
"An immediate ceasefire is needed now to end this unbearable suffering," Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for Turk's office, told a media briefing.
"Work on a lasting peace, in line with international law, must intensify -- a peace that ensures accountability for gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law."
Rather than being sidelined or overlooked, "any move towards ceasefire, towards peace -- accountability must be at its heart", she added.
- Surging civilian casualties -
Throssell said Turk wanted any negotiations to focus in the immediate term on ending attacks that affect civilians and protecting the rights of people in occupied territory.
They should also seek to return forcibly transferred or deported children, establish humanitarian corridors across the line of control and an bring end to the torture and ill treatment of prisoners of war and other detainees, she said.
Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.
Moscow has unleashed record waves of drone and missile attacks over the past few weeks, with the number of Ukrainian civilians killed or wounded in June hitting a three-year high, according to UN figures, with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured.
"July has brought no respite for civilians in Ukraine," said Throssell.
So far this month at least 139 civilians have reportedly been killed and 791 wounded, she said, citing the "intense and successive waves of missile and drone strikes" launched by Russian forces.
"Intense and sustained attacks using explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas are likely to have indiscriminate impacts and as such raise serious concerns as to their compliance with international humanitarian law," said Throssell.
The UN human rights office has so far been able to verify and document at least 13,580 civilians killed and 34,115 wounded since the Russian invasion began but acknowledges that the full figures will be far higher.
- Attacks on healthcare -
Meanwhile Jarno Habicht, the World Health Organization's representative in Ukraine, said civilian casualties "almost doubled" in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the first.
He said the WHO had recorded 2,504 attacks on healthcare since the start of the war, involving 212 deaths and 768 injuries.
The WHO records attacks but does not attribute blame as it is not a criminal investigations body.
"That means that healthcare is not a safe place for the patients and healthcare workers -- and it's a violation of humanitarian law," said Habicht.
He also sounded an alarm on "problem" behaviours growing during the war -- heavy drinking among adults, and new tobacco products used by youths.
rjm/nl/gil
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Weaklings': Trump turns on his own base as Epstein fallout continues
In a furious tirade, Donald Trump has called some of his own supporters 'weaklings' and accused them for falling for a 'bullshit … scam' as the fallout from the Epstein files continues. The US president's blistering attack on what he calls his 'past supporters,' come as a Republican politician makes a push to release the remaining documents related to finances and child sex offender Jeffry Epstein. Mr Trump is facing the most serious split of his political career from his famously loyal right-wing base over suspicions that his administration is covering up lurid details of Epstein's crimes to protect rich and powerful figures they say are implicated. Last week, the US Department of Justice concluded Epstein's 2019 death in a New York prison was indeed a suicide, there was no so-called 'client list' and there would be no further documents releases. Yet earlier this year, Attorney-General Pam Bondi said she had the Epstein client list on her desk. She has now back tracked and said it was simply related documents. A number of senior Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Mr Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump have said more Epstein documents should be released, even if they contain no incriminating information. 'Weaklings' But on Wednesday, US time, Mr Trump took to social media to suggest that Republicans focusing in Epstein were falling for a Democrat 'hoax'. That's despite Mr Trump talking about the 'Epstein files' on the campaign trail and his own officials repeatedly mentioning them now they are in office. '(The Democrats) new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker,' he write on his social media platform Truth Social. 'They haven't learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years. 'I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country's history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. 'Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!,' he raged. MAGA fury The comments under his Truth Social posts are often full of praise for Mr Trump. But under Wednesday's Epstein post criticism was rife. One poster said the Epstein case was 'why Trump won' and a third of his support could now vanish. 'Promises broken,' said another echoing Mr Trump's frequent refrain of 'Promises kept'. 'Trump is a globalist elite himself' was a further comment. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a frequent Trump critic, announced on Wednesday he will push for a vote in Congress to release the documents. The Justice Department would not be compelled to do so but it would increase the pressure on the administration which is already feeling the heat from some of the MAGA base that are convinced that the Epstein files will reveal a cabal of secrets and could sink people they deem as opponents. Bondi 'needs to explain that' House Speaker Mike Johnson, usually close to Mr Trump's views, has not contradicted the president but has urged the White House to release any documents. 'It's a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it,' Mr Johnson told a podcaster on Tuesday. He also referenced Ms Bondi and her comment that she had Epstein's 'client list'. 'She needs to come forward and explain that to everybody.' Mr Trump has defended Ms Bondi but has said that it is her decision now on whether further files are made public. – with AAP.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Trump calls own supporters 'weaklings' as MAGA's Epstein backlash grows
US President Donald Trump has branded his own supporters "weaklings" and "stupid" for demanding the release of files related to the deceased financier and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump labelled the furore around the so-called Epstein files a "SCAM" and said his "PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit'". It comes amid a growing rift within his Make America Great Again (MAGA) Republican coalition over the Epstein files and a "client list" which the FBI last week announced did not exist. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week announced it would not release any further documents related to Epstein or his suicide in a New York jail cell. Claiming the Democrats were peddling "fake news", he wrote lashing out at Republicans: "I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country's history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!" He later told reporters those calling for the release of the files were "some stupid Republicans" and "wasting their time". "Don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!" The Justice Department and the FBI also acknowledged that Epstein did not maintain a "client list" to whom underage girls were trafficked. The "client list" has been the central pillar of a number of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein, and senior members of Mr Trump's administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, had previously promised to release it. Mr Trump has been under pressure over the issue, with the saga threatening to undermine the loyal support he receives from the MAGA base of the Republican Party. A number of high profile conservative influencers have also criticised the FBI's statement and attorney general's response, but the president has so far backed Ms Bondi. But in recent days he has also appeared willing to discredit the theory, describing it as the "Jeffrey Epstein Hoax". In his Truth post, the US president compared the Epstein client list to other high-profile sagas, including allegations Russia interfered in the 2016 election. He also pointed blame at the Democrats for peddling the story. "The Radical Left Democrats have hit pay dirt, again!" Mr Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. During the 2021 trial of Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier's longtime pilot, Lawrence Visoski, testified that Mr Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. Mr Trump has denied ever being on the plane and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. ABC/Reuters
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Trump slams 'stupid' Republicans as Epstein row grows
US President Donald Trump blasted "foolish" Republican supporters Wednesday as he went on the attack against anyone questioning his administration's handling of the case of dead sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. After days of struggling to brush off what he now claims is a Democratic hoax, Trump took his most combative tone yet to try and shut down the issue. "It's all been a big hoax, it's perpetrated by the Democrats. And some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net and so they try and do the Democrats' work," Trump told reporters when asked about Epstein. But Trump is facing the most serious split in his loyal right-wing base since he returned to power, over claims that his administration is covering up lurid details of disgraced financier Epstein's crimes to protect rich and powerful figures. Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 -- during Trump's first term -- after being charged with sex trafficking in a scheme where he allegedly groomed young and underage women for abuse by the rich and powerful. The Trump-supporting far-right has long latched on to the scandal, claiming the existence of a secret list of Epstein's powerful clients and that the late financier was in fact murdered in his cell. Trump supporters expected the Republican to answer their questions on his return to office this January but now find themselves being told the conspiracy theories are false. Trump, 79, began on Wednesday by dismissing what he called "my PAST supporters" in a post on his Truth Social network. He said they had "bought into this 'bullshit' hook, line and sinker." He doubled down when he faced repeated questions on the issue in the Oval Office during a visit with Bahrain's visiting crown prince, pinning the blame for the wild conspiracy theories on his opponents. He then sought to deflect, rattling off what he said were a list of his economic and foreign policy achievements and complaining that people were instead "talking about a guy who obviously had some very serious problems who died three, four years ago." "And the sad part, it is people that are really doing the Democrats work. They're stupid people." Asked if his post describing supporters who questioned the White House's line as "past" was effectively disowning them, Trump replied: "No but I lost a lot of faith in certain people." - Trump's changing tune - Trump -- who was one of the many currently famous people who were formerly friends with Epstein, but denies having gone to his notorious US Virgin Islands home -- said ahead of his election he would have "no problem" releasing files on the case. But the Justice Department and FBI said in a memo made public earlier this month there is no evidence that the disgraced financier kept a "client list" or was blackmailing powerful figures. They also dismissed the claim that Epstein was murdered in jail, confirming his death by suicide, and said they would not be releasing any more information on the probe. However, reports that nearly three minutes had been cut from prison security camera footage released in an effort to prove the absence of foul play only triggered new speculation. Beyond angering supporters, the issue has opened a schism within his administration, sparking a fiery blow-up between Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who is said to be considering resigning. Trump on Wednesday reiterated that Bondi could release "whatever's credible" in the files.
