A senior UN official warned that the Russian escalation threatens the diplomatic momentum towards achieving peace in Ukraine and risks "rapidly fading away" if Moscow's large-scale attacks continue.

This came in a speech delivered by Miroslav Jenča, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas, on Friday evening during an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Jenča stated that "the large-scale strikes launched by Russia on Thursday morning on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, are only the latest episode in the brutal escalation of aerial attacks across the country."

In this regard, he expressed UN Secretary-General António Guterres' condemnation of the attacks, which resulted in at least 23 fatalities, including four children.

He noted that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded a rise in civilian casualties in 18 regions of Ukraine last July, along with a new record number of casualties, reaching 1,674—the highest since May 2022.

Regarding the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, Jenča said that aid has been delivered to 3.8 million people this year, and preparations are underway to provide targeted winter support to 1.7 million more. He emphasized that "there is an urgent need for expanded and flexible donor support" to sustain life-saving operations.

Ukrainian officials reported that their country witnessed the launch of 598 drones and 31 missiles during the past Wednesday and Thursday, resulting in the deaths of at least 23 people in the capital, Kyiv, including four children.