UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has warned against a “dangerous escalation” in Russia’s war against Ukraine amid Russian threats to step up attacks, urging the sides to return to the negotiating table.
“I strongly call for restraint. Resume negotiations and stop the suffering,” Türk said.
The UN human rights office said the dangerous escalation in fighting has led to a high number of civilian casualties in Ukraine.
According to the UN, the number of civilians killed or injured in Ukraine in the first four months of 2026 was 21 per cent higher than in the same period in 2025 (815 dead; 4174 injured in 2026 compared to 682 dead; 3453 injured in 2025).
Türk noted that Ukrainian military strikes have also resulted in civilian deaths and injuries in Russia. “I call on the Russian and Ukrainian authorities to conduct prompt, independent and effective investigations and bring those responsible to justice. They must do everything possible to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,” the UN Commissioner for Human Rights said.
Due to the escalating situation in the Middle East, trilateral talks between Ukraine, the USA and Russia, which had been going on during January and February, were postponed indefinitely.
According to Financial Times sources, both Moscow and Kiev believe that prospects for resuming US-brokered peace talks are slim even after the end of the war in the Middle East. According to sources who spoke to the Financial Times, neither side now sees any point in continuing the talks. Ukraine, according to the publication, believes the talks had already stalled in February after the last round of talks with Russia, and is disappointed that Washington has failed to put pressure on Putin.
Russian officials are on record talking about demanding the handover of all of Donbass as a key condition for a peace settlement, while hinting that agreement to do so came from the US president during his meeting with Putin in Anchorage last year.
Ukraine has been proposing since last year, after the US began mediating, to stop fighting along the front line – in which case most of Ukraine’s Donbass, but not the entire region, would remain under Russian control. Ukraine does not intend to recognise this legally.
On 22 May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington was ready to continue mediating negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, but so far they are not taking place. He also noted that the previous negotiations had not been productive.