Report on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine, 1 June – 30 November 2025

Executive summary
1. From 1 June to 30 November 2025, OHCHR recorded a significant escalation in hostilities across Ukraine, resulting in increased civilian harm. Civilian casualties surged in both frontline and urban areas, with July 2025 marking the highest monthly toll since April 2022. The vast majority of casualties occurred in territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine. The Russian Federation intensified its deployment of missiles and long-range drones, with hundreds of munitions launched in frequent large-scale overnight attacks.

2. In October 2025, Russian armed forces resumed large-scale coordinated strikes on energy facilities nationwide, launching eight major waves of attack on multiple regions simultaneously in the final two months of the reporting period. These attacks caused regional emergency power outages and long scheduled daily power cuts across the country, with heating and water supply disrupted in some areas.

3. Conditions in frontline areas continued to deteriorate. Short-range drones, aerial bombs and other explosive weapons killed and injured civilians and destroyed housing and other critical civilian infrastructure. In some frontline cities, medical and other essential services collapsed, catalysing increased displacement. Continued hostilities strained services for displaced persons and disrupted education across the country.

4. Between the end of May and August 2025, Ukraine and the Russian Federation conducted the largest exchanges of POWs and civilian detainees since 2022, leading to the release of more than three thousand persons from both sides. Released Ukrainian POWs reported that torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence, and deaths in custody continued in 2025, particularly in facilities inside the Russian Federation, despite periods of respite, including prior to exchange. Since mid-November 2025, OHCHR recorded an increase in reports of executions of Ukrainian military personnel captured by the Russian armed forces. Interviews with released Ukrainian civilian detainees highlighted fair trial concerns, including the use of torture to extract confessions. POWs held by Ukraine described torture and ill-treatment in transit places before arrival at places of internment that are part of the interment infrastructure established by the Ministry of Justice.

5. In occupied territory, Russian occupying authorities continued to restrict civilians’ rights and violate fundamental provisions of international humanitarian law (IHL). The Russian Federation deported dozens of Ukrainians from occupied territory of Ukraine or from the Russian Federation to Georgia, though a lack of valid Ukrainian identity documents meant many were held at the Russian Federation -Georgia border. The occupying authorities continued to implement legislation allowing expropriation of allegedly abandoned residential property, publishing notices of potential abandonment of at least 4,500 homes during the reporting period, though people displaced from occupied territory could not verify the status of their properties.

6. Occupying authorities in Donetsk region introduced water rationing because of a serious water shortage due to damage from hostilities in 2022, lack of adequate maintenance of infrastructure, and dry weather. Residents in some areas received running water once every three days or less, and complained of poor water quality and a lack of sufficient pressure for household sanitation.

7. Summer camps and changes to the 2025-2026 school curriculum reinforced Russian “patriotic education” for children as young as three years old in occupied territory of Ukraine, while militarized competitive activities were held for children under oversight of soldiers from the Russian armed forces. Residents of occupied territory faced continued restrictions on freedom of expression, religion, and privacy, including prosecution for perceived pro-Ukrainian expression.

8. In territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine, authorities continued to prosecute Ukrainians on charges of collaboration for work that can be lawfully compelled by the occupying Power under IHL. The right to conscientious objection to military service has continued to be subjected to undue restrictions in law and practice.