UN News Today 29 September 2025 |

Ukraine suffers renewed, massive Russian strikes overnight

In Ukraine, people across the country have been dealing with the aftermath of a massive Russian bombing raid that lasted into Monday, reportedly killing four, including a teenage girl.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, the attack lasted around 12 hours and involved nearly 600 drones, 46 cruise missiles and five rockets.

The densely populated capital, Kyiv, and the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia were among the targets, said the UN’s Andrea de Domenico, head of the UN aid coordination office in Ukraine:

“During this weekend again, a Ukrainian city came under attack, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast. According to the authorities, 12 people have been killed, more than 100 have been injured, among those children. This is a trend that continues attacks on cities across the entire country. Support for (a) humanitarian response in Ukraine is dearly necessary still.”

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) also reported that a cardiology facility had been hit in Kyiv, killing two people on Sunday.

Gaza City: UN rights office condemns healthcare attacks

To war-torn Gaza, where Israeli attacks on healthcare have left the sick and injured with nowhere to go, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Monday.

In an update issued amid the ongoing Israeli military bid to take full control of Gaza City, OHCHR said that escalating attacks on civilians and public infrastructure have led to countless casualties.

Since 16 September, the UN rights office has recorded at least 17 Israeli attacks on or in the vicinity of health facilities in the Strip’s largest population centre.

These included three hospitals that received a direct hit: Al Quds in the southwestern part of the city, Al Rantisi children’s facility in the northwest and the Medical Relief Health Centre in central Gaza City.

Strikes were also recorded near Gaza City’s Al Shifa Medical Complex and Al Ahli Hospital.

The UN human rights office noted that in addition, the Jordanian Field Hospital in Tal Al Hawa, southwestern Gaza City, announced its evacuation to Al Mawasi in Khan Younis, following Israeli strikes.

Maria Ressa: It’s time to push back against AI and Big Tech’s threat to truth

Finally to New York, where global rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa has been warning that it’s high time we pushed back against the huge growth of AI and ‘big tech’, which she insists are fuelling disinformation.

Both AI and the technology firms that promote it are also eroding accepted truths and threatening democracy, Ms. Ressa said.

Here she is now with UN News’s Ben Malor, who asked her to explain her assertion that online platforms manipulate people:

“Absolutely, insidious manipulation. And it starts with the fact that our public information ecosystem, the distribution of information has been outsourced to private companies whose main goal is profit, right?…And it is no coincidence that if you look at the stats, V-Dem in Sweden, in March this year, said that 72 per cent of the world is now under authoritarian rule. We’re electing illiberal leaders democratically.”

Ms. Ressa’s comments come as the UN continues to drive global efforts to agree on AI regulation, including a high-level General Assembly meeting last week involving all 193 Member States.

You can see the full video on our UN News home page.

According to a UN report published in 2024, 118 countries were not parties to any significant international AI governance initiatives created in recent years.

Only seven nations, all from the developed world, were parties to all of the initiatives.

Daniel Johnson, UN News