UN says 2024 in Ukraine may be 'even more unpredictable and destructive'

A senior UN official on Wednesday warned that the year 2024 in Ukraine could become "even more unpredictable and destructive" if immediate measures are not taken.

"Much like last year, the year 2023 has been devastating for the people of Ukraine," UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca said during his address at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

"If urgent steps are not taken to reverse this trajectory, next year may be even more unpredictable and destructive," he said.

Reiterating UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's call to all member states to "do their part to lay the groundwork for peace," he went on to say: "Peace that is in line with the UN Charter, international law, and resolutions of the General Assembly."

Noting that the cold winter weather has arrived in war-torn Ukraine, he said intensifying Russian attacks on the country's energy facilities, amidst heavy snow and freezing temperatures, are "worsening the dire humanitarian conditions across the country."

The war that began in February 2022 has left 10,065 civilians killed and 18,679 injured so far, according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Jenca said that the actual figures "are likely considerably higher".

Ten million people have been forced to flee their homes, including 3.7 million internally displaced, and over 6.3 million refugees recorded globally, according to Jenca.

"All attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop immediately," he said.

The war also poses "significant risks" to civilian navigation and to Ukraine's grain export capacity, he said, adding that Russian attacks hit port facilities, grain silos and vehicles for transporting grain.

"Following the suspension of the Black Sea Initiative, these attacks substantially reduced the capacity of Ukraine to export food," he said.