The United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United Nations told the UN Security Council that Russian attacks have killed over 1,540 Ukrainian civilians in the last four months. Ambassador Sarah MacIntosh, the UK Permanent Representative to the UN, spoke at a Council meeting on Ukraine in New York.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office published the statement on Nov. 9, 2026. It is a transcript of the speech as delivered that day.
MacIntosh listed recent attacks. She said a Russian drone struck a railway station in Dnipro on Oct. 30, killing at least 15 civilians and injuring 14 more. On Nov. 2, she said, Russian bombs hit a school operating as an aid centre in Zaporizhzhia region and killed at least 55 civilians, which she called among the deadliest attacks of the war.
She said Russian drones and missiles hit civilian energy and other infrastructure on Nov. 7, including Kyiv’s northern bridge. On Nov. 8, she said, Russian attacks killed a further seven civilians. She said President Putin is intensifying attacks on Ukraine’s cities and people because he cannot achieve his objectives on the battlefield.
MacIntosh said that since President Trump called for an energy ceasefire on Oct. 11, Russia has fired more than 150 ballistic missiles at Ukraine, most of them aimed at energy facilities. She also cited a UN Commission of Inquiry, which she said reported last month that Russia has pursued a state policy of attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for more than four years. According to MacIntosh, the Commission concluded that these attacks are war crimes.
She said Russia’s Ministry of Defence has made its intent plain that Ukrainians will freeze this winter. She told the Council it should not let attacks on civilian infrastructure become a new normal.
MacIntosh welcomed a humanitarian ceasefire in Oleshky, which she said was brokered with United States support. She said it let aid reach civilians and allowed hundreds of people to leave what she described as desperate conditions under Russian occupation. She added that securing even a few days of safety for civilians should not require an exceptional step.
The ambassador also made claims about the war’s course. She said Russia suffered 54,000 casualties last month alone and has gained net zero territory this year.
MacIntosh said the UK and its partners will back Ukraine this winter and beyond, for as long as needed. She said Russia can either continue the war or choose peace. The statement does not say whether the Council took any action after the meeting, and it does not include a Russian response.