Civilian casualty update 5 September 2022: Ukraine

OHCHR
  • 228 killed and 631 injured in 125 settlements in regions (parts of regions), which were under Government control when casualties occurred (74 percent of the total); and
  • 66 killed and 237 injured in 8 settlements in parts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups (26 percent of the total).
  • Per type of weapon/incident:

    • Explosive weapons with wide area effects: 287 killed and 821 injured (95 per cent);
    • Mines and explosive remnants of war: 7 killed and 47 injured (5 per cent).

    Civilian casualties caused by explosive weapons with wide area effects in August 2022

    Killed

    Injured

    Grand total

    Per cent

    Government-controlled territory

    Territory controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups

    Total

    Government-controlled territory

    Territory controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups

    Total

    Shelling, total

    176

    64

    240

    494

    201

    695

    935

    84.4

    MLRS

    63

    5

    68

    177

    19

    196

    264

    Artillery

    and tanks

    17

    59

    76

    45

    182

    227

    303

    Type not

    yet deter-

    mined

    (MLRS or

    artillery or

    tanks)

    96

    0

    96

    272

    0

    272

    368

    Cruise and ballistic missiles (air, sea and land-based)

    46

    1

    47

    126

    0

    126

    173

    15.6

    Grand total

    222

    65

    287

    620

    201

    821

    1,108

    100.0

    Per cent

    77.4

    22.6

    100.0

    75.5

    24.5

    100.0

    Total civilian casualties from 24 February to 4 September 2022

    From 24 February to 4 September 2022, OHCHR recorded 13,917 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 5,718 killed and 8,199 injured.

    • a total of 5,718 killed (2,214 men, 1,526 women, 151 girls, and 186 boys, as well as 35 children and 1,606 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
    • a total of 8,199 injured (1,693 men, 1,250 women, 179 girls, and 245 boys, as well as 211 children and 4,621 adults whose sex is yet unknown)
      • In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 7,853 casualties (3,396 killed and 4,457 injured)
        • On Government-controlled territory: 6,279 casualties (3,072 killed and 3,207 injured)
        • On territory controlled by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups: 1,574 casualties (324 killed and 1,250 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: 6,064 casualties (2,322 killed and 3,742 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.

    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.

    Public Release. More on this here.