GENEVA: The United Nations rights chief warned Thursday against a "dangerous escalation" in Ukraine, and Russia's threats to ramp up attacks, urging both sides to return to the negotiating table.

"I strongly urge restraint. Resume negotiations and end the suffering," Volker Turk said in a statement.

His appeal comes days after one of the worst combined missile and drone attacks on Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago.

It was the latest in a string of large-scale attacks by Russia in recent weeks.

The UN rights office said 815 civilians had been killed and 4,174 injured in Ukraine in the first four months of 2026 -- a 21% increase in civilian casualties over the same period last year.

"As if all these casualty figures weren't horrifying enough on their own, following these attacks, Russian officials have publicly threatened to increase attacks across Kyiv," Turk said.

Call for avoiding civilian harm

"International humanitarian law demands that parties to a conflict take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm," he said.

"These are not simply suggestions or recommendations, but binding obligations carrying legal responsibility for those involved."

His office also pointed to an attack by Ukrainian armed forces on an educational complex in the occupied city of Starobilsk on May 21-22, in which Russian authorities say 21 people were killed and 44 injured.

"The UN Human Rights Office has conducted a thorough review of publicly-available information, which indicates that the educational facilities were operational at the time of the attack and that civilians -- many of them students -- were killed or injured," it said.

Eighteen of those killed were women, it said, adding that attacks by Ukrainian armed forces had also killed and injured civilians within Russia itself.

Turk called on both Russian and Ukrainian authorities to conduct "prompt, independent, and effective investigations and hold those responsible accountable".

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UN condemns 'dangerous escalation' in Ukraine war