Conflict · Aid workers killedNearly 1,000 Aid Workers Hit Last Year — UN Warns Impunity Is NormalizedAired August 22, 2026 at 9:44 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Nearly a thousand aid workers were0:02killed, injured, or kidnapped last year.0:04States dominate the violence, and almost0:06none of the attacks face a real0:08investigation from the trigger pulled to0:09the order given to the weapon supplied.0:11What would it take for states to0:13actually investigate the chain that0:14leaves nearly a thousand humanitarians0:16counted, but not answered for? The0:17briefing put it as nearly a thousand0:19killed, injured, or kidnapped. The0:22verified count behind it is 907 aid0:24workers hit by major violence in0:26calendar year 2025.0:28>> [music]0:28>> 350 killed, 322 injured or wounded, 2350:32kidnapped. That is the second highest0:34annual toll on record,0:36>> [music]0:36>> down from the peak of 387 killed in0:382024. Another 280 detentions or arrests0:41by state actors are tracked separately0:43[music]0:43and are not part of the 907. Gaza was0:46the deadliest context with 186 killed,0:49followed [music] by Sudan with 71. More0:51than 1,000 killings over 3 years from0:532023 to 2025 have been cited in related0:56reporting. The warning came from Kyiv on0:58World Humanitarian Day,1:0020 August 2026. Under the title, "An1:03attack on one of us is an attack on all1:05of us." The published remarks close as1:07an attack on any one of us in our1:09humanitarian movement is an attack on1:11all of us. The speaker is Tom Fletcher,1:13the United Nations1:14Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian1:16Affairs and Emergency Relief1:17Coordinator, the UN's top humanitarian1:19official. He said he has been in the job1:22almost 2 years. That day exists because1:24of the Canal Hotel bombing. On 19th of1:26August 2003, a suicide truck hit the UN1:29headquarters in Baghdad, killing 221:31people, including top envoy Sergio1:33Vieira de Mello, and injuring more than1:35100. The General Assembly created World1:37Humanitarian Day in 2008 to mark that1:39anniversary, first observed in 2009. By1:42this briefing, it was 23 years, marked1:44the day before with a wreath laying in1:45New York. Fletcher's almost 2 years1:47aligns with the record, appointed 9,0001:49October 2024, took office 18th of1:52November 2024, about 21 months earlier.1:55"States dominate that violence,"1:57Fletcher [music] said, and impunity1:59reaches the entire chain. Those who2:01pulled the trigger, those who gave the2:02[music] order, those who supplied the2:04weapon, and those who created the2:05environment. In almost 2 years, he said,2:07he struggles [music] to think of2:08meaningful investigations into this2:10litany of killing.2:11The briefing called the attacks a2:12normalized [music] stain met with2:13impunity. It did not name which states2:16dominate, did not provide2:17incident-by-incident attribution [music]2:19or an evidence package, did not list2:21which incidents lack investigations, and2:23did not define what would [music] count2:24as meaningful or state-led2:26investigations. The warning was2:27distilled from the frontline south. 22:29days earlier, on the morning of 182:31August, a missile strike on Pereyaslav2:34in the cafe region killed at least 102:35people and injured 20 while strikes on2:37energy infrastructure cut power and2:39caused outages. In those same hours,2:41Fletcher was moving through Mykolaiv and2:43Kherson on 18 and 19 August, meeting2:45displaced families and drone attack2:47victims in hospitals. In the first half2:49of 2026, aid operations in Ukraine2:51reached 3 million people with 60%2:54reaching frontline areas with at least2:56one form of help.2:57The briefing was the first time those2:59days were turned into a system-wide3:01warning. Fletcher described a dystopian3:03kill zone. He said he drove the Mykolaiv3:05to Kherson road of death four times for3:07miles and kilometers under netting to3:09keep drones out. The netting is nylon or3:11agricultural mesh over poles forming3:13tunnels more than 100 to about 200 km in3:16the region under ongoing installation3:18and constant repair because weather,3:20termite, and incendiary attacks burn3:21sections and tactics evolve. Kherson3:24hospital itself was hit by a cheap3:25drone. Fletcher said he handled it, a3:28$300 FPV fiber optic and loitering3:30drone, and has moved wards and theaters3:32underground to escape. Doctors told him3:34around 70% of their wounded patients3:36have blast injuries from drones, 70%3:39with no total number or period stated,3:41and the move underground described as3:43ongoing.3:44Area hospitals have shifted wards,3:46theaters, maternity, and intensive care3:48into basements and bunkers. That cheap3:50weapon is not contained to Ukraine, he3:52warned. [music] "A $300 drone that can3:54maim is transforming and extending war3:56to Somalia, Sudan, Gaza, Lebanon, and3:58Colombia." In that context, he cited4:011,000 civilians killed in Sudan in the4:03first 5 [music] months of the year. The4:04demand is for state-led investigations4:06that actually trace who fired, who4:08ordered, who supplied, and who enabled.4:10And for companies that make and move the4:12weapons to understand their obligations4:13under international humanitarian law4:15with updated enforcement to prevent4:17technology out pacing accountability.4:18[music]4:19The briefing announced no new treaty or4:21mechanism and set no criteria for what a4:23credible investigation [music] must4:24include. It also rejected claims the UN4:26humanitarian system in Gaza has been4:28dismantled, citing over 1 million hot4:31meals per day since the 20-point plan4:33and Sharm El Sheikh meeting and [music]4:34a target to reach 87 million people this4:36year, but gave no dates or contents for4:39that plan or [music] meeting, did not4:40clarify whether the 87 million is global4:43or specific to Gaza, or how it is4:44measured, and provided no time frame for4:46the [music] meals figure. Until states4:48open genuine investigations that4:50identify the full chain, the count4:52>> [music]4:52>> 907 last year inside more than 1,0004:54killings over 3 years remains a count4:56without consequence, and the stain4:58described as normalized stays4:59unexamined.5:01Like and follow for more stories that5:02matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗