By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK – On Friday, October 3, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council (HRC) on October 3, that the war in Ukraine must end. Turk said the war in Ukraine “has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals and shelter.’ The human rights chief reported that “Russian authorities continue to perpetrate widespread and systematic violations of human rights against Ukrainian civilians in the territory they occupy in the south and east of the country.’ Turk further stated that “Residents face increasing pressure to obtain Russian citizenship to access basic services, or risk intimidation, deportation and the confiscation of their property.” He said that Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) teams are continuing to closely follow these developments, while gathering evidence and documenting alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
Further troubling, he underscored, is that Russian authorities occupying Ukrainian territory have imposed their own curriculum on schools and introduced patriotic and military education. Surveillance and censorship have become the norm and intensified, including on messaging apps and VPNs. As Turk pointed out: “These practices reflect a deliberate effort to suppress dissent and Ukrainian identity.” He said that in some towns in frontline communities, “nearly all the housing has been damaged or destroyed.” The human rights chief also reiterated that 2025 has been a year of “intense attacks along the frontline, and massive airstrikes, largely in populated areas” in Ukraine. He warned that the danger and harm to Ukrainian civilians rose exponentially with total casualties in the first eight months of the year, increasing by 40 percent.
OHCHR has documented over 50,00 civilians killed and injured, including more than 3,000 children since the war began in February 2022. There is evidence of widespread sexual violence, attacks on power stations, gas facilities, bridges, railways and other critical infrastructure that disrupts daily life and essential services. Russia has also detained large numbers of both Ukrainian civilians and military personnel with OHCHR issuing a report last week, detailing the violations perpetrated on civilian detainees.
Meanwhile, Russia has detained large numbers of both Ukrainian civilians and military personnel. OHCHR issued a report last week that details the violations inflicted on civilian detainees. As Turk said: “In many cases, people living in occupied territory have been arbitrarily seized from the street and held for weeks, months, or even years. In a significant number of these cases, these detentions my amount to enforced disappearances.” OHCHR also recorded 90 extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian civilians detained by Russian authorities with 38 deaths in custody that resulted from torture, lack of medical care or poor conditions. Turk also remarked: “We also documented patterns of widespread, systematic torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence against Ukrainian civilian detainees. My staff had already recorded these same violations against Ukrainian prisoners of war.”
