Ukraine: Briefing
Tomorrow afternoon (28 May), the Security Council will hold an open briefing on Ukraine. The meeting was requested by Ukraine in a 24 May letter and supported by the Council’s European members (Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, and the UK). Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to deliver short remarks, after which Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari will brief. Ukraine and several countries from the region are expected to participate in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
In its letter, Ukraine describes what it calls a new level of Russian aggression, referring to the large-scale missile and drone attack carried out overnight on 23-24 May against several Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv. According to the letter, Russia launched more than 690 aerial weapons, including 90 ballistic and cruise missiles and 600 drones, with Kyiv sustaining what Ukraine describes as the most devastating attack on the city to date. The letter says that residential buildings, commercial facilities, schools, public utilities (including gas pipelines), and the Chornobyl Museum in Kyiv were damaged or destroyed, and that several other regions across Ukraine were also targeted. It further alleges that Russia struck the central city of Bila Tserkva with an Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile designed to carry nuclear warheads, arguing that Moscow is engaging in nuclear intimidation and deliberately seeking to instil fear beyond Ukraine’s borders. According to media reports, this was the third time that Russia has attacked Ukraine using the Oreshnik missile system.
Russia has since warned of further attacks on Kyiv. In a 25 May statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that, in response to what it described as Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilians, Russian forces would begin “consistent and systemic strikes” on Ukrainian defence industry enterprises in Kyiv, including facilities involved in the design, manufacture, and programming of drones, as well as decision-making centres and command posts. Noting that such facilities were “scattered across Kyiv”, the statement urged foreign citizens, including diplomatic personnel and staff of international organisations, to leave the city as soon as possible.
Later that day, according to a Russian readout of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lavrov notified the US that Russia was launching “systematic and sustained strikes” on facilities in Kyiv serving Ukraine’s armed forces. Responding to questions about the call, Rubio said that Russia had sent a notice to embassies warning that Kyiv would be “a very dangerous place” and described the situation as carrying a continuing risk of escalation. He added that there were no active negotiations scheduled, but conveyed the US’ readiness to play a constructive role should the opportunity arise. European Union (EU) representatives have dismissed Russia’s calls for foreign personnel to leave Kyiv, with European External Action Service spokesperson Anitta Hipper describing the warning as an “unacceptable escalation” and saying that the EU Delegation would remain in Kyiv.
Tomorrow’s meeting will be the Council’s third meeting on Ukraine this month. The first was held on 19 May, at Ukraine’s request, following what it described as intensifying Russian missile and drone attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure. (For more information, see our 18 May What’s in Blue story.) The second, held on 22 May under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item, was convened at Russia’s request following what it alleged was a Ukrainian drone attack that hit a dormitory in Starobilsk in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, which is currently controlled by Russia. Russian authorities reported that there were 86 students aged 14 to 18 and one staff member in the dormitory building at the time of the strike, noting that 21 people have died.
At the 22 May meeting, Edem Wosornu, the Director of the Crisis Response Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that the UN could not confirm the details of the reported strike on the Starobilsk dormitory but stressed that civilians must be protected. She also reported that a ballistic missile struck a warehouse contracted by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Dnipro on the night of 19-20 May, killing two warehouse workers and destroying more than $1 million worth of aid, which she described as the fifth hit on humanitarian workers and assets in nine days. Vanessa Frazier, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said that the reported incident in Starobilsk was a reminder of a broader pattern of attacks on schools, noting that over 440 attacks on schools were verified in Ukraine in 2025. Referring to her recent visits to Ukraine and Russia, including to an underground metro school in Kharkiv and schools in Belgorod, she urged all parties to stop harming children and to protect education. Ted Chaiban, the Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations at UNICEF, said that more than 3,400 children have been killed or injured since the start of the war in February 2022, while millions more remain affected by air raids, displacement, disrupted education, and deteriorating mental health.
During the meeting, Russia accused Ukraine of deliberately striking the dormitory and committing a war crime. Ukraine rejected the allegations, claiming that its strikes on 22 May were against military targets and arguing that the Russian army has been using civilian facilities in territories that it occupies for military purposes. Several Council members deplored any harm to civilians but called for independent verification of the incident, with some of the European members questioning Russia’s decision to convene a meeting on a single unverified incident while continuing its own daily strikes across Ukraine. Several other members, including China and Pakistan, called for restraint, dialogue, and a peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate security interests of all sides.
At tomorrow’s meeting, Guterres is likely to voice alarm about the continuing toll of hostilities on civilians and civilian infrastructure and to reiterate the parties’ obligations in this regard under international humanitarian law (IHL). Khiari may refer to recent attacks affecting humanitarian assets, including a 25 May strike on a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in Dnipro. According to the UN, the warehouse was used for humanitarian operations and contained food assistance sufficient to support 130,000 people.
Council members are expected to present divergent assessments of responsibility for the latest escalation and the path towards ending the war. The European members are likely to condemn the 23-24 May attacks, characterise Russia’s reported use of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile as a dangerous escalation, and reiterate calls for an immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire.
Yesterday morning (26 May), Ukraine, together with 49 member states—including the European Council members—and the EU, delivered a joint statement calling for concrete humanitarian measures, including the full exchange of prisoners of war (POWs), the release of unlawfully detained persons, and the return of Ukrainian children and other civilians who have been forcibly transferred or deported. The statement also condemned Russia’s recent threats against diplomatic institutions and embassies in Kyiv, describing them as unacceptable. The European members may reiterate these messages at tomorrow’s meeting.
Several other Council members are likely to stress the need for restraint, de-escalation, protection of civilians, and respect for IHL. Some may urge continued diplomatic efforts, while warning that recent developments, including the reported use of nuclear-capable systems and threats of intensified strikes on Kyiv, risk further escalation. The US may reiterate its readiness to support a negotiated end to the war while underscoring the risks of escalation.
Russia is likely to reject allegations that it targets civilians, argue that its strikes are directed at military facilities and decision-making centres, and maintain that they are a response to Ukrainian attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Russian territory. It may also refer again to the 22 May strike on the Starobilsk dormitory. At a press conference yesterday afternoon, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia (Russia) criticised European Council members for questioning Russia’s account of the attack and calling for independent access to the Ukrainian territory it currently controls, describing this as “not merely double standards” but a “moral failure”. He argued that Russia had facilitated access by foreign journalists to the site and that the UN’s lack of access reflected a political decision by the Secretariat, which he said has refused to visit frontline areas via Russian territory because of its respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
During tomorrow’s meeting, Russia may again accuse Ukraine and its European allies of using the Council selectively to focus on Russian strikes while ignoring Ukrainian attacks, and it may portray continued Western military assistance to Kyiv as prolonging the conflict. Ukraine, for its part, is expected to urge Council members to condemn Russia’s latest attacks, respond to what it describes as nuclear intimidation, and increase pressure on Moscow to agree to a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire.