UN: Over 8,000 civilians killed in war in Ukraine

In Ukraine, 8,231 civilians have died since the beginning of the war, and another 13,734 have been injured, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has reported.

Among the dead were 3,664 men, 2,173 women, 260 boys and 203 girls. The gender of the 1,900 adults and 31 children has yet to be determined.

Moreover, since the beginning of March, the UN has recorded 293 civilian casualties in Ukraine. Of these, 84 died.

The UN notes that the real number of dead and injured is much higher. It is difficult to obtain data on civilian casualties from places where there is intense fighting, so many reports have not yet been confirmed. This applies, for example, to Mariupol (Donetsk Oblast), Lysychansk, Popasna and Severodonetsk (Luhansk Oblast), where there are allegedly numerous civilian casualties.

The cause of death for most people was the use of wide-range explosives. Civilians were killed, including by heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers, as well as by rockets and airstrikes, the United Nations said.

In late February, on the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Russia to end the war in Ukraine. In particular, the document referred to the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine as part of “independent investigation and prosecution at the national or international level.”

“Russia can stop this aggression. Russia can end the war it started. Russia must put an end to this infernal bloodshed,” António Guterres told the General Assembly.