UK links Russia’s drone and missile strikes in Ukraine to international humanitarian law breaches

The United Kingdom has told the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe that Russia’s escalating attacks on Ukrainian civilians constitute violations of international humanitarian law and breach commitments undertaken within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe framework.

Speaking in Vienna on 11 February 2026, Ankur Narayan, Counsellor for Politico-Military Affairs at the United Kingdom Delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, referenced recent findings from the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe that document what he described as a pattern of deliberate attacks on civilians across Ukraine. The statement was delivered during a session of the Security Dialogue and was published by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on the same day.

Ankur Narayan began by noting that the Security Dialogue that morning had focused on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Code of Conduct, particularly the integration of women in the armed forces. He stated that his remarks addressed another aspect of the Code of Conduct, specifically paragraphs 30, 31 and 34, which require participating States to ensure that their armed forces operate fully in accordance with international law.

According to Ankur Narayan, reports from the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe indicate a pattern of deliberate attacks on civilians. He cited the latest report from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, which stated that the armed forces of the Russian Federation had further escalated the use of weapons with wide area effects in urban areas across Ukraine in disregard of international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction and proportionality.

Ankur Narayan referred to data verified by the United Nations in January 2026 indicating that civilian casualties for 2025 totalled 14,656. He said that this represented an increase of 31 percent compared with 2024 and 70 percent compared with 2023. He added that the United Nations had reported that 63 percent of all civilian casualties in 2025 occurred in frontline areas. He further noted that older people were disproportionately affected, as they were more likely to remain in these areas. According to the United Nations, individuals aged 60 years and above accounted for more than 45 percent of civilians killed in frontline areas in 2025, while representing only 25 percent of the national population.

Ankur Narayan stated that First-Person View drones were responsible for the majority of civilian deaths and injuries near the frontline. He referred to findings in the latest Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights report, which recorded what it described as a continued escalation in the use of short-range loitering munitions, including so-called First Person View drones, by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. The report indicated that these drones remained the leading cause of civilian casualties near the frontline.

Citing United Nations data, Ankur Narayan said that civilian casualties caused by short-range drones had increased by 120 percent in 2025. The United Nations recorded 577 civilians killed and 3,288 injured as a result of short-range drone attacks. He also referenced a specific case documented by the United Nations on 25 December, in which a short-range drone struck a car carrying volunteers conducting evacuations in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region. In that incident, one humanitarian worker was killed and two others were injured.

Ankur Narayan referred to a statement from the Head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, who had assessed that the high number of civilian casualties resulting from First Person View drone attacks suggested that these weapons had been deployed in ways that violated international humanitarian law, particularly the principles of distinction and precaution. The Head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had further indicated that in some instances drone operators appeared to have intentionally attacked civilians or civilian objects, including medical transport and personnel, and that such actions would amount to war crimes.

In addition to drone attacks, Ankur Narayan stated that expanding missile strikes posed a growing risk to civilians. He referred to a single missile strike on 19 November that hit an apartment building in Ternopil and killed 38 civilians. He said that the Russian Federation was now launching an average of more than 180 missiles at Ukraine per month, largely targeting energy and critical infrastructure.

Concluding his remarks, Ankur Narayan said that the United Kingdom reiterated its call on the Russian Federation to cease unlawful attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, to comply fully with international law, and to honour in good faith the commitments it had freely undertaken within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

How do United Nations and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe reports frame the escalation of civilian harm in Ukraine?

The statement delivered by Ankur Narayan places particular emphasis on findings from the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Both institutions have documented trends that they describe as an escalation in the use of weapons with wide area effects in urban areas and an increased reliance on short-range loitering munitions near the frontline.

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights report cited by the United Kingdom indicates that the armed forces of the Russian Federation have increased the use of weapons that affect broad urban areas. The reference to the principles of distinction and proportionality underscores the legal framework that governs the conduct of hostilities under international humanitarian law. These principles require parties to a conflict to distinguish between civilians and combatants and to ensure that anticipated civilian harm is not excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.

The United Nations casualty data cited by the United Kingdom indicates that civilian harm has continued to rise over successive years. The reported figure of 14,656 civilian casualties in 2025, alongside percentage increases compared with 2024 and 2023, suggests an upward trend in verified civilian deaths and injuries. The concentration of 63 percent of casualties in frontline areas and the disproportionate impact on individuals aged 60 years and above provide demographic context to the pattern described.

The reference to 577 civilians killed and 3,288 injured in 2025 by short-range drones, along with a documented 120 percent increase in casualties caused by such systems, highlights the growing role of these weapons. The documented incident in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, involving a drone strike on a vehicle conducting evacuations, is presented as a specific example within the broader pattern described by the United Nations.

The assessment from the Head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, as cited by the United Kingdom, frames certain uses of First Person View drones as potentially violating international humanitarian law and, in some instances, amounting to war crimes if civilians or civilian objects were intentionally targeted.

The mention of the 19 November missile strike on an apartment building in Ternopil, which killed 38 civilians, and the assertion that the Russian Federation is launching more than 180 missiles per month at Ukraine, largely targeting energy and critical infrastructure, places the drone attacks within a wider pattern of missile operations that, according to the United Kingdom, increase risks to civilian populations.

The United Kingdom’s statement situates these developments within the framework of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Code of Conduct. By referring to paragraphs 30, 31 and 34 of the Code of Conduct, Ankur Narayan linked the reported conduct of the armed forces of the Russian Federation to obligations undertaken by participating States to ensure that their armed forces operate in accordance with international law.

Key takeaways on what this development means for the countries, institutions, and global context involved

• The United Kingdom has formally accused the Russian Federation at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe of escalating unlawful attacks on Ukrainian civilians, citing United Nations and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe reports.

• United Nations data verified in January 2026 recorded 14,656 civilian casualties in 2025, representing increases compared with 2024 and 2023, with 63 percent occurring in frontline areas.

• The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights reported an escalation in the use of weapons with wide area effects in urban areas and identified First Person View drones as the leading cause of civilian casualties near the frontline.

• The United Kingdom reiterated its call for the Russian Federation to cease attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, comply with international humanitarian law, and honour commitments under the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Code of Conduct.