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Kayako Goto urges protection for civilians after reported drone and missile strikes in Ukraine
Summary
In a briefing to the United Nations, Kayako Goto warned of escalating civilian harm in Ukraine after reported large‑scale drone and missile attacks, described two incidents involving clearly marked United Nations vehicles, and called for renewed negotiations, continued prisoner exchanges and protection for deported children.
Kayako Goto, a meeting presenter, told the United Nations that the war in Ukraine "is becoming delirious by the day," citing a wave of recent drone and missile strikes that she said are inflicting growing civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.
"Between 13 and 14 May, the Russian Federation reportedly launched more than 1,500 drones and dozens of missiles targeting Ukrainian cities across the country," Goto said, and she described a 14 May strike that "flattened a 9 story apartment block in Kyiv's Donetsk district," killing 24 people, including three girls aged 12, 15 and 17. She said last month alone at least 238 civilians were killed and 1,404 injured, the highest monthly civilian toll since July 2025.
Goto cited figures verified by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, saying that since February 2022 OHCHR has verified at least 15,850 civilian deaths in Ukraine, including roughly 791 children, and approximately 44,809 people injured; she added that actual figures are likely significantly higher.
She also described reported strikes inside the Russian Federation that have caused civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, including incidents she said occurred on 17 May (four reported killed across the Russian Federation, including in Moscow) and on 15 May (four reported killed, including a child, in a location cited in the transcript as "Liaison").
Goto expressed particular concern about attacks on humanitarian personnel and property. "Last week, United Nations personnel in Ukraine were involved in two alarming drone related incidents," she said, noting that on 14 May a clearly marked United Nations vehicle taking part in an interagency humanitarian mission led by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was reportedly struck twice in a location cited in the transcript as "Harrison," and that in December another clearly marked United Nations vehicle that was part of a World Food Programme humanitarian convoy in Dnipro's Petrovsky region was reportedly hit by a remote‑controlled drone. "International law, including international humanitarian law, must be respected at all times," she added.
On diplomacy and prisoner exchanges, Goto welcomed a previously announced three‑day ceasefire and efforts that allowed a brief pause in major strikes, while regretting reported violations on both sides. She said an agreed exchange mediated by the United States returned 205 prisoners from each side on 15 May and urged the parties to finalize and fully implement further phases of the exchange.
Goto also raised concerns about deported and forcibly transferred Ukrainian children, calling for "individualized, independent and impartial assessment" grounded in each child's best interests and the preservation of family unity wherever possible. She said the United Nations remains ready to support efforts toward a "full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire" and urged that negotiations resume without further delay.
The statement concluded with a pledge that the United Nations and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will work to establish the full facts surrounding the reported incidents involving United Nations personnel.
