Civilian Death Toll in Ukraine Tops 10,000–UN Human Rights Office

11/21/2023

More than 10,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, with about half of recent deaths occurring far behind the frontlines, the UN Human Rights Office said on Tuesday. 

The UN human rights mission in Ukraine, which has dozens of monitors in the country, said it expects the real toll to be "significantly higher" than the official tally since corroboration work is ongoing. 

This includes events in the first months after the invasion, such as the battle for control of Mariupol, where residents reported high civilian casualties. 

The vast majority of the deaths have been caused by explosive weapons with a wide-area impact such as shells, missiles, and cluster munitions, the United Nations said. 

Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians. 

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