From 24 February 2022, when the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine started, to 14 August 2022, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 13,212 civilian casualties in the country: 5,514 killed and 7,698 injured. This included:
- a total of 5,514 killed (2,125 men, 1,451 women, 147 girls, and 170 boys, as well as 39 children and 1,582 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
- a total of 7,698 injured (1,560 men, 1,149 women, 164 girls, and 231 boys, as well as 200 children and 4,394 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
- In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 7,486 casualties (3,273 killed and 4,213 injured)
- On Government-controlled territory: 6,064 casualties (2,984 killed and 3,080 injured)
- On territory controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups: 1,422 casualties (289 killed and 1,133 injured)
- In other regions of Ukraine (the city of Kyiv, and Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn, and Zhytomyr regions), which were under Government control when casualties occurred: 5,726 casualties (2,241 killed and 3,485 injured)
- In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 7,486 casualties (3,273 killed and 4,213 injured)
Civilian casualties in Ukraine from 24 February to 14 August 2022 (individual cases verified by OHCHR), per month
- February 24-28
Killed: 340
Injured: 462
- March
Killed: 3169
Injured: 2400
- April
Killed:675
Injured: 1254
- May
Killed: 458
Injured: 1013
- June
Killed: 368
Injured: 1029
- July
Killed: 360
Injured: 1099
- August 1-14
Killed: 144
Injured: 441
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 14 August 2022 (individual cases verified by OHCHR)
From 1 to 14 August 2022, OHCHR recorded 585 civilian casualties:
- 144 killed (35 men, 36 women, 1 girl, and 72 adults whose sex is yet unknown); and
- 441 injured (113 men, 95 women, 8 girls, 10 boys, as well as 6 children and 209 adults whose sex is yet unknown).
This included:
- 106 killed and 301 injured in 74 settlements in regions (parts of regions), which were under Government control when casualties occurred (70 percent of the total); and
- 38 killed and 140 injured in 7 settlements in parts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups (30 percent of the total).
Per type of weapon/incident:
- Explosive weapons with wide area effects: 142 killed and 410 injured (94 per cent);
- Mines and explosive remnants of war: 2 killed and 31 injured (6 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 and numbers 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.
* An increase in figures in this update compared with the previous update (as of 7 August 2022) should not be attributed to civilian casualties that occurred from 8 to 14 August only, as during these days OHCHR also corroborated casualties that occurred on previous days. Similarly, not all civilian casualties that were reported from 8 to 14 August have been included into the above figures. Some of them are still pending corroboration and if confirmed, will be reported on in future updates.