UN News Today 12 February 2026 |

Ukraine war: UN rights chief Türk slams relentless attacks by Russia 

Amid reported heavy Russian strikes across Ukraine on Thursday, UN human rights chief Volker Türk has condemned the “continual bombardment” the country’s people are facing.

His reaction followed overnight attacks on energy infrastructure in Kyiv, Dnipro and the key port city of Odesa. 

Nearly 8,800 multistorey buildings in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa are without heating. 

In Kharkiv, temperatures are forecast to drop to minus 10°C or 14 Fahrenheit on Thursday evening, said Viktoriia Andrievska from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. Here she is now speaking to UN News:

“Without heating or electricity, homes will turn freezing, basic services will stop, for example, the lifts will stop working, and people, especially those older residents and people with families with children, will struggle to stay warm and safe. That represents really a serious risk including a health-related risk for people.” 

In his statement, the UN human rights chief emphasised the lasting impact of “large-scale” attacks by Russia on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which he stressed are prohibited under international law.

Gaza: Another UN worker is killed, says UNRWA

To Gaza, where it’s been confirmed that another UN worker has been killed, despite a ceasefire agreement between Hamas fighters and the Israeli military.

According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, a staff member was killed during Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday, reportedly after an attack by Hamas in Rafah.

UNRWA said that the Israeli strikes in Gaza City and shelling in Khan Younis killed at least four Palestinians – including their colleague – as he was hit while out walking on Salah Eddin Street in central Gaza.

Since the war began, 391 UNRWA staff and partners have been killed.

In other Gaza news, Israeli forces have demolished a United Nations school in Jabalia in the north of the enclave , it’s been confirmed.

According to UNRWA, the school was one of a number of facilities it has behind the so-called “Yellow Line” of concrete blocks that separates the Israel Defense Forces from the people of Gaza. 

The UN agency said the classrooms were razed to the ground on 5 February in an educational compound which has now been entirely destroyed. 

Between January and February, eight UNRWA schools in the militarised area have been reportedly demolished by Israeli forces, the UN agency said.

Cholera surging again in DR Congo

To the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, where cholera is surging once again.

The disease can be deadly within hours if not treated quickly and it is endemic in the eastern part of DR Congo, where armed conflict has uprooted hundreds of thousands of people and sparked a humanitarian emergency.

In an alert, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said that the outbreak is the worst in 25 years. 

To contain the spread of the disease, the UN has dispersed $750,000 to help partners deliver safe water, hygiene and boost prevention efforts.

Early and coordinated action will save lives and ease pressure on health systems, the UN agency noted.

Decades of heavy fighting in eastern DR Congo have seen repeated and unresolved clashes between government forces and Rwanda-backed M23 militia.

In December, the Security Council extended the UN peacekeeping mission in the country for another year. The mission’s core area of operations is the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, along with ceasefire monitoring in South Kivu.

Daniel Johnson, UN News