Civilian casualties from February 24, 2022, after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, to May 1, 2023, totaled 23,375 (23,015 as of April 24), including 8,709 deaths (8,574), the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Tuesday.
“OHCHR believes that the real number of civilian deaths or injuries is significantly higher, as many reports from places where such cases have occurred still require further confirmation, while information from some places where fighting is ongoing is delayed,” the paper noted regarding the UN data.
This is the case, for example, in such locations as Mariupol (Donetsk region), Lysychansk, Popasna and Severodonetsk (Luhansk region), where numerous civilian deaths or injuries have been reported.
According to confirmed UN data, 3,933 men, 2,341 women, 270 boys and 214 girls were killed, while the gender of 31 children and 1,920 adults could not yet be determined.
Among the 14,666 wounded, 431 were boys and 304 girls, and 278 children whose sex could not yet be determined.
Compared to April 24, nine children were killed and 14 more were wounded.
Whereas the OHCHR casualty report used to be issued daily, and then only on weekdays, it has become a weekly report since July. This report, like the previous one, provides data by month.
According to them, the number of deaths in April was 169, compared with 181 in March, 141 in February, 198 in January, 206 in December and 186 in November.
March remains the deadliest month for civilians, according to the UN, with at least 4,094 deaths. In April, according to an OHCHR publication, the number of civilian deaths due to the war dropped to 798, in May to 534, in June to 426 and in July to 379. In the first five days of the war from February 24-28, 362 people died, in August 336, in September 393 and in October 305.
The number of wounded for April reached 496, compared with 592 in March, 458 in February, 539 in January, 617 in December, and 541 in November. In October, the number of wounded dropped to 795 from 981 in September, when it was up from 917 in August. Before that the number of wounded exceeded a thousand each month: July – 1130, June – 1105, May – 1138, April – 1890, March – 2987. In the first five days of the war last February 465 people were wounded.
According to the report, in April of this year, large-area explosive weapons killed 165 people and wounded another 456, while mines and explosive remnants of war killed four people and wounded four (7% of total casualties).
Government-controlled territories accounted for 84 percent of the casualties in April, according to the UN.
The summary traditionally states that the increase in numbers to the previous summary should not be attributed solely to cases after April 24, as the Office verified some cases from previous days during that period.
