The war in Ukraine is having a deepening impact on civilians by the day. The scale and intensity of long-range attacks impacting residential buildings and critical civilian infrastructure are shocking. These attacks must stop.
In recent days there have been multiple attacks causing civilian casualties across Ukraine, as well as in the Russian Federation.
Civilians and civilian infrastructure are strictly protected under international humanitarian law, and any such deliberate attack is a war crime.
On Sunday, Kyiv was hit for the seventh time this month. In the largest reported missile attack on the capital since the start of the full-scale invasion, at least 35 ballistic and hypersonic cruise missiles targeted the city. Authorities reported one civilian death while 20 others were injured, and there was damage across five districts.
On the same day, glide bombs struck residential areas of Zaporizhzhia City, reportedly destroying part of a five-storey residential building. Authorities reported three civilian deaths – a girl among them, and injuries to 41 people including seven children. At the same time, four civilians were reportedly killed and 20 injured by a strike on a Nova Poshta postal terminal in Korotych, near Kharkiv City.
Recent attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea have further increased risks to maritime operations. In the latest incident on Sunday, a merchant vessel sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau was struck by cruise missiles shortly after departing a port near Odesa. Ten people, including at least eight crew members, were reportedly killed and seven injured.
Long-range drone attacks by Ukraine have also reportedly continued to cause civilian casualties and damage to logistics infrastructure belonging to a private company inside Russia. Overnight on 17-18 July, Russian authorities reported attacks including strikes on the Wildberries logistics centres in the Moscow and Tambov regions that killed eight civilians and caused injuries to 86 others.
Today, we are joined by the head of our Ukraine team, Danielle Bell, who will share some of the key trends and developments documented by her team on the ground.
