Almost 10,000 civilians killed in Ukraine since start of war, says UN

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Tuesday that nearly 10,000 civilians have been reported dead since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

 

A new report confirmed 9,444 civilian deaths and 16,940 people injured since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

 

In total, 500 children have been killed.

 

The real figure is likely much higher. The OHCHR noted that the count was not complete because data was missing from many regions.

 

This applies especially to cities such as Mariupol, Lysychansk or Sievierodonetsk, which were occupied by Russian troops after a long period of heavy fighting, making the data harder to obtain. In Kiev too, it is feared that thousands or tens of thousands more Ukrainians have been killed than officially recorded.

 

According to the UN figures, the vast majority of people – 7,339 of them – died in regions of Ukraine shelled by Russia and defended by the Ukrainian army. In regions occupied by Russian troops, 2,105 people were killed.

 

In the embattled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, there were significantly more victims on both sides of the front than in the capital Kiev, central and western Ukraine.

 

The UN report shows that there were more civilians killed in the first months of the war. In the spring and summer of 2023, between 170 and 180 civilians died each month.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile visited frontline positions in the south-eastern Zaporizhzhya region on Tuesday.

Air raid alerts were issued across the entirety of Ukraine as 24 cruise missiles were fired by Russian fighter jets flying over the Caspian Sea, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

 

In addition, a Russian frigate in the Black Sea launched four Kalibr cruise missiles. Air defences intercepted 16 of the missiles, the air force said.

 

At least three people were killed in the north-western city of Lutsk, located in the Volyn region bordering NATO-member Poland, said regional governor Yuriy Pohulyaiko.

 

Several injured people were taken to hospitals.

 

Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine, and its surrounding area were also hit in the early hours of Tuesday by Russian cruise missiles, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said.

 

About 40 buildings were damaged, with the attic of an apartment building catching fire and the grounds of a kindergarten pounded, he said.

 

The mayor released a video that he said was a deep bomb crater left by the Russian missile that hit the kindergarten’s premises.

 

Rocket impacts were also reported from the cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhya, as well as Kramatorsk, which are closer to the front lines in eastern Ukraine. One man died in Kramatorsk, local prosecutors said.

 

Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022, but Ukrainian troops had been fighting Moscow-controlled separatists in eastern Ukraine since the spring of 2014.