UN warns on Ukraine strikes, nuclear tests, rights abuse

Russian armed forces conducted another large-scale combined attack across Ukraine early Thursday, reportedly targeting critical energy infrastructure, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

It marks the third large-scale strike in October on energy facilities in civilian areas, leading to major power outages.

At least two more civilians were killed and 23 injured, including six children, in Zaporizhzhia, which was reportedly hit by over eight ballistic missiles and 20 drones. A seven-year-old girl was among those killed in the central region of Vinnytsia.

Over 700 strikes

Thursday’s barrage was among the largest since Russia’s invasion began in 2022, with 705 munitions reportedly deployed.

Danielle Belle, head of the UN monitoring team, warned that if this pattern of attacks continues, it could have “dangerous consequences” for civilians during the harsh winter months.

She stressed that these disruptions would disproportionately affect vulnerable groups, including the elderly, people with disabilities, and families with young children.

Ukrainian armed forces reportedly responded to Russian long-range attacks with their own drone and missile strikes.

Nuclear testing ‘can never be permitted,’ UN reiterates

Responding to a statement from the United States President that his administration would resume nuclear weapons testing, the UN on Thursday warned against proliferation and called for maintaining the global moratorium.

The risk of nuclear war is “already alarmingly high,” Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters at the regular noon briefing in New York.

President Donald Trump said on social media that he had instructed the Pentagon “to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis,” referring to reported Russian testing of new nuclear delivery systems and China’s deployment of new ballistic missile silos.

China has not conducted a nuclear weapons test since 1996, and Russia’s last confirmed test was in 1990.

Miscalculation and escalation

Mr. Haq said any nuclear activity that “could lead to miscalculation or escalation with catastrophic consequences must be avoided.”

“We should not forget the disastrous legacy of over 2,000 nuclear weapons tests carried out over the past 80 years,” he added.

He emphasised that, from the Secretary-General’s standpoint, “nuclear testing can never be permitted under any circumstances.”

Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), said in a statement that the treaty bans all nuclear explosions and that his agency “can and will detect any nuclear weapon test explosion anywhere on the planet.”

He added that this moment offers “an opportunity for world leaders to step forward and work together towards the ratification of the CTBT and the shared goal of a world free from nuclear weapons testing.”

UN experts warn of rights violations in Nicaragua

A group of independent UN human rights experts has urged the international community to hold Nicaragua’s government accountable for grave rights violations and international crimes, as they presented their findings to the General Assembly for the first time.

Jan-Michael Simon, Chair of the Group, said Nicaragua — once a symbol of peace, freedom, and democracy in Central America — now faces allegations of dismantling the rule of law and democratic institutions.

Silencing dissent, at home and abroad

The experts’ report describes a deliberate state policy to silence dissent and consolidate absolute power through violence, fear, and systematic repression.

Some human rights violations documented in the report amount to crimes against humanity.

The group also condemned the rising number of enforced disappearances, calling them acts of cruelty that torment both victims and their families.

They further warned that the government has extended its repression beyond its borders by stripping exiled dissidents of their nationality as punishment for speaking out.