EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová: “May 2026 was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion"
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová:
"May 2026 was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
According to UN data, at least 274 civilians were killed and another 1,763 injured last May. That is a 93% increase compared to May last year!
Long-range missile and drone attacks on cities far from the frontline accounted for the largest share of this rise in casualties.
And yet, the world is talking about it less and less.
Many media outlets no longer place attacks on Ukraine on their front pages. Notable exception this past week was the attack that set ablaze UNESCO heritage site 1053 Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, one of the holiest places in Eastern Christianity. And also the Wednesday attack by Ukraine on an oil storage in Moscow that spewed black fumes since early morning hours.
Otherwise, the war has become background noise. A backdrop. But for millions of Ukrainians, it remains a daily reality. A bloody one. An exhausting one.
The past few days have shown once again that Russia is not scaling down its attacks. Quite the opposite.
On the night of 20 June, Russia launched 99 drones against Ukraine. In Kharkiv, one person was killed when a residential building was struck, and two children were among the injured. Another 32 people were injured in the Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The following night brought another combined attack. Ballistic missiles, Kinzhal missiles and 105 drones. In the Poltava region, two people were killed and 14 injured, including six children. Residential buildings were damaged in Sumy. Earlier, a Russian aerial attack on Zaporizhzhia had killed five people and injured 12. Eighteen residential buildings were damaged.
These are not isolated incidents. This is a trend.
That is why it is so important that the democratic world and influential media do not turn away from the war in Ukraine. Russia is intensifying its attacks on civilians at a time when it is failing to achieve decisive successes on the battlefield.
For more than four years, Ukraine has been defending not only its freedom and its territory. It has been defending the peace of Europeans. We must not forget that.
This is precisely why the EU’s new €90 billion support package is so important and timely. Two thirds of it are directed towards defence. Ukraine needs our support now more than ever.
Not tomorrow.
Today."