UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN’s top human rights official warned Thursday that the war in Ukraine risks dangerous escalation, urging both sides to return to negotiations after one of the heaviest recent waves of Russian missile and drone attacks on Kyiv, AFP reported. The appeals came days after one of the worst combined missile and drone attacks on Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. It was the latest in a string of major attacks by Russia in recent weeks. “The direction of the war – the escalation and the intensification that we are witnessing – risks to get out of control,” UN chief Antonio Guterres told the Security Council. “The death spiral must stop. What is needed now is de-escalation – immediate and sustained.” Guterres underlined “large-scale strikes launched by the Russian Federation across Ukraine on 23-24 May – and the prospect of further such attacks.” “I strongly urge restraint. Resume negotiations and end the suffering,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement. The UN rights office said 815 civilians had been killed and 4,174 injured in Ukraine in the first four months of 2026 – a 21-percent increase in civilian casualties over the same period last year.