Ukraine – civilian death toll

Over 10,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, according to a statement from the UN human rights office on Tuesday. However, the real number is believed to be “significantly higher”, but some deaths have not been definitively verified and confirmed, according to the United Nations Human Rights Mission in Ukraine, which has several staff to monitor the situation in different parts of the country.
     In the first months of the war, among other things, there was heavy fighting in the city of Mariupol. There are reports of heavy casualties among the civilian population, but it has not been possible to investigate this further and confirm the figure definitively. “10,000 civilian deaths is a cruel milestone for Ukraine,” said Danielle Bell, head of the UN mission. “Russia’s war on Ukraine, now entering its 21st month, risks escalating into a protracted conflict where the serious human cost will be hard to comprehend.”
     The vast majority of the 10 000 civilian victims have been killed by explosive weapons. These include grenades, missiles and cluster bombs. About half of the Ukrainian civilians who have fallen victim to the war in recent times have been killed far from the front line. This is because Russia uses long-range missiles. Some civilians are also dying from the unexploded ordnance left in a shelled area. /ritzau/Reuters/