From 24 February 2022, when the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine started, to 29 January 2023, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 18,657 civilian casualties in the country: 7,110 killed and 11,547 injured. This included:
- a total of 7,110 killed (2,819 men, 1,905 women, 180 girls, and 225 boys, as well as 33 children and 1,948 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
- a total of 11,547 injured (2,539 men, 1,804 women, 242 girls, and 334 boys, as well as 266 children and 6,362 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
- In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 9,998 casualties (4,144 killed and 5,854 injured)
- On Government-controlled territory: 7,803 casualties (3,644 killed and 4,159 injured)
- On territory controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups: 2,195 casualties (500 killed and 1,695 injured)
- In other regions of Ukraine (the city of Kyiv, and Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn, and Zhytomyr regions), which were under Government control when casualties occurred: 8,659 casualties (2,966 killed and 5,693 injured)
- In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 9,998 casualties (4,144 killed and 5,854 injured)
Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes.
OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration. This concerns, for example, Mariupol (Donetsk region), Izium (Kharkiv region), Lysychansk, Popasna, and Sievierodonetsk (Luhansk region), where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties.
Civilian casualties from 1 to 29 January 2023(individual cases verified by OHCHR)
From 1 to 29 January 2023, OHCHR recorded 676 civilian casualties:
- 170 killed (63 men, 46 women, 4 girls, 4 boys, as well as 53 adults whose sex is yet unknown); and
- 506 injured (148 men, 77 women, 9 girls, 12 boys, as well as 12 children and 248 adults whose sex is yet unknown).
This included:
- 156 killed and 454 injured in 103 settlements in regions (parts of regions), which were under Government control when casualties occurred (90 percent of the total); and
- 14 killed and 52 injured in 6 settlements in parts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups (10 percent of the total).
Per type of weapon/incident:
- Explosive weapons with wide area effects: 161 killed and 481 injured (95 per cent);
- Mines and explosive remnants of war: 9 killed and 25 injured (5 per cent).
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine
Since 2014, OHCHR has been documenting civilian casualties in Ukraine. Reports are based on information that the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) collected through interviews with victims and their relatives; witnesses; analysis of corroborating material confidentially shared with HRMMU; official records; open-source documents, photo and video materials; forensic records and reports; criminal investigation materials; court documents; reports by international and national non-governmental organisations; public reports by law enforcement and military actors; data from medical facilities and local authorities. All sources and information are assessed for their relevance and credibility and cross-checked against other information. In some instances, corroboration may take time. This may mean that conclusions on civilian casualties may be revised as more information becomes available andnumbers may change as new information emerges over time. Statistics presented in the current update are based on individual civilian casualty records where the “reasonable grounds to believe” standard of proof was met, namely where, based on a body of verified information, an ordinarily prudent observer would have reasonable grounds to believe that the casualty took place as described.
