On 22 September 2026, at the 63rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Human Rights Research League (HRRL) delivered an oral statement on Ukraine during the Interactive Dialogue with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine. In his intervention, HRRL Chairman Tom Syring condemned the ever more ruthless attacks on civilians and warned of the danger of normalizing such grave breaches of international law. 

For the full statement, please see the video of the Oral Statement on UN Web TV, or read the text of HRRL's intervention below.

"Thank you, Mr. Vice-Preident.

Human Rights Research League is deeply concerned by the seeming normalization of attacks on civilians in Russia's full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. As we're about to enter the sixth winter of this war, the number of civilians deliberately targeted by Russia is on the rise. According to OHCHR, "[i]n the first eight months of 2026, more civilians were killed and injured in Ukraine than during the whole of 2025." Current figures more than doubled compared to 2024, reflecting ever more ruthless attacks on civilians, despite the fundamental prohibition of targeting civilians enshrined in international law.

Ukraine recently introduced a two-tier air alert system, with a yellow label indicating less-encompassing attacks. These two levels were not introduced because drone raids alone may not be deadly, but because closing down the country for every air alert would render life impossible.

Even civilians in need of mental helath services are increasingly treated with basic Operative Resilience Training (ORT) techniques meant for restoring soldiers to a minimum functional level on the battlefield, becasue the need for standard treatment far exceeds the time and resources available. 

While Ukraine has to normalize extraordinary circumstances out of sheer necessity, we do not have the right to normalize grave breaches of international law, including armed attacks on civilians.

I thank you."