The Security Council issues a resolution to confront digital violence against children in armed conflicts

On Monday, the UN Security Council unanimously issued a historic resolution aimed at reducing violence against children using digital technologies in the context of armed conflicts.

The text of the resolution, which calls on parties to conflicts to refrain from using social media, electronic gaming platforms, and messaging services to recruit children, includes a series of proposals for member states, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.

In particular, these countries are required to “take measures within their national systems to protect children, with the aim of reducing the risks of using digital technologies to commit acts of violence against them or increase their severity, as well as establishing mechanisms for reporting these violations and providing support to victims.”

These countries are called upon to invest in distance learning facilities, digital skills, and education.

The resolution also calls for “supporting developing countries and helping them enhance their capabilities, with the aim of reducing the digital gap between regions and within each region.”

Greek Ambassador Aglaia Balta, who chairs the Security Council and sponsored the text, said: “This resolution strengthens our collective response to threats that are evolving at a pace as rapid as the development of the technologies that support them.”

She noted that parties involved in armed conflicts are “adapting their methods” to the development of digital technology. “If we do not adapt our approaches, the gap between existing frameworks and emerging threats will widen, making children more vulnerable,” she said.

Although the vote was unanimous, the United States, Russia, China and Somalia later expressed reservations about the decision.

In 2025, the United Nations recorded 38,558 “serious violations” against 24,174 children in armed conflicts, an unprecedented level.

US President Donald Trump accused Ukraine of not offering anything in return for American support. Trump told reporters in Washington on Monday: “We have given a lot to Ukraine, but it has given us nothing. Remember that.”

Meanwhile, the Axios news site reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky complained about Washington's blocking of arms shipments.

According to reports, Zelensky made this accusation during a virtual meeting with members of the US Senate from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Axios reported that Zelensky said that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth refuses to approve the delivery of Patriot missiles and other air defense missiles, even though NATO countries have already paid for them, according to what was reported by the German News Agency.

According to Axios, Zelensky said: “All of this indicates that some political decision has been made to slow down the support provided to us.”

The Washington Post, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the suspension of shipments also affected supplies from other partners to Ukraine, which require Washington's approval.

Trump also escalated his criticism of Kiev after Zelensky suggested that the US president's close approach to the Kremlin puts him on the wrong side of history.

Trump responded, saying: “Zelensky doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” He added that the Ukrainian president "is not helping much" in efforts to end the war.

At least three people were killed on Monday as a result of a Russian strike targeting a park in the Kharkiv region, while three others were killed in a Ukrainian attack that targeted a vehicle belonging to a funeral home in an occupied area in the east of the country, according to what local authorities announced.

The governor of the Kharkiv region (northeast), Oleg Sinigubov, said via the Telegram application: “The enemy launched a drone attack on the central park in Nova Vodolaga... killing a small child and two adults immediately.”

In the Luhansk region (east), which is under Moscow’s control, a Ukrainian strike targeted “a car belonging to a funeral home that was transporting a body.” As a result, 3 people were killed,” according to what the Russian-appointed local official, Leonid Pasichnik, said on the Telegram platform.