Civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, to 24:00 on May 11 amounted to 7,326 civilians (a day earlier – 7,256), including 3,541 dead (3,496), reports the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Thursday.
“OHCHR believes that the actual figures are much higher as information is delayed from some areas of heavy fighting and many reports are still awaiting confirmation,” the UN data document notes.
According to him, this applies, for example, to Mariupol (Donetsk region), Izyum (Kharkiv region) and Popasna (Luhansk region), where there are reports of numerous civilian casualties. They are subject to further verification and are not included in the above statistics.
“The majority of civilian deaths or injuries were caused by the use of explosive devices with a wide area of effect, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as rocket and air strikes,” the report says.
According to confirmed UN data, 1,300 men, 844 women, 93 boys and 77 girls died, while the sex of 69 children and 1,158 adults has not yet been determined.
Among the 3,785 injured were 98 boys and 90 girls, as well as 167 children whose gender has not yet been determined.
Compared to the report the day before, one child died and seven more were injured.
OHCHR indicates that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight on May 12, there were 1,781 (1,750) dead and 1,473 (1,466) injured in government-controlled territory, and 116 (115) dead and 476 (462) injured in territory controlled by self-proclaimed “republics”.
In other regions of Ukraine under government control (in Kyiv, as well as in Zhytomyr, Zaporozhye, Kyiv, Sumy, Odessa, Nikolaev, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnepropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions), the UN recorded 1644 (1631) dead and 1836 (1832) wounded .
The daily summary has traditionally stated that the increase in numbers from the previous summary should not be attributed only to the May 11 cases, since during this period the Office verified a number of cases from previous days.
On Thursday, May 12, the UN Human Rights Council will hold its 34th special meeting dedicated to the deterioration of the human rights situation in Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression.
“It is being convened in accordance with the official request filed today by Ukraine and supported so far by 53 states,” the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on its website on Monday.
The Office recalls that the convening of an extraordinary session requires the support of one third of the 47 members of the Council – 16 or more. To date, the following Council Member States have supported this request (16): Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.
They were also joined by the following Observer States (37): Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
Specific details of the special session and its scenario will be discussed at a public meeting on May 11, UNHCHR clarifies.
The Office recalled that during the 49th regular session of the Human Rights Council on March 3 and 4, 2022, the Council held an emergency discussion on the issue of Russian aggression against Ukraine, after which it decided to establish an independent international commission to investigate all alleged human rights violations in the context of such aggression.
On Friday, the UN Security Council unanimously supported a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, UN Secretary General António Guterres said.
“Today, for the first time, the Security Council has unanimously spoken out for peace in Ukraine. As I have often said, the world must come together to silence the guns and uphold the values of the UN Charter,” he tweeted Friday night.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the Organization’s plans to double support for Ukrainians under the conditions of war.
“I was moved by the resilience and bravery of the people of Ukraine. My message to them is simple: We will not give up. The UN will redouble its efforts to save lives and reduce human suffering. In this war, as in all wars, the civilians always pay the highest price,” Guterres said on Twitter on Friday.
As reported, the UN Secretary General arrived on a visit to Ukraine on Wednesday evening, and on Thursday morning he visited the liberated cities of Kyiv region to the north-west of the capital.
Civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, to 24:00 on April 27 amounted to 6,009 civilians (in the report the day before – 5,939), including 2,829 dead (2,787), reports the Office of the High Commissioner United Nations Human Rights Organization (OHCHR) on Thursday.
“OHCHR believes that the actual figures are much higher as information is delayed from some areas of heavy fighting and many reports are still awaiting confirmation,” the UN data document notes.
According to him, this applies, for example, to Mariupol (Donetsk region), Izyum (Kharkiv region) and Popasna (Luhansk region), where there are reports of numerous civilian casualties. They are subject to further verification and are not included in the above statistics.
“The majority of civilian deaths or injuries were caused by the use of explosive devices with a wide area of effect, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as rocket and air strikes,” the report says.
According to confirmed UN data, 932 men, 626 women, 75 boys and 62 girls died, while the sex of 68 children and 1066 adults has not yet been determined.
Among the 3,180 wounded were 73 boys and 66 girls, as well as 164 children whose gender has not yet been determined.
Compared to Friday’s report, according to the UN, three children were killed and another was injured.
OHCHR indicates that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight on April 28, there were 1,266 (1,229) dead and 1,172 (1,159) injured in government-controlled territory, and 88 (85) dead and 357 (353) injured in territory controlled by self-proclaimed “republics”.
In other regions of Ukraine under government control (in Kyiv, as well as in Zhytomyr, Zaporozhye, Kyiv, Sumy, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnepropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions), the UN recorded 1475 (1473) dead and 1651 (1640) wounded .
The daily summary traditionally states that the increase in the figures from the previous summary should not be attributed only to the cases on April 26, since during this period the Office verified a number of cases from previous days.
UN Secretary General António Guterres has arrived in Ukraine on a visit.
“I arrived in Ukraine after visiting Moscow. We will continue our work to expand humanitarian assistance and ensure the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones. The sooner this war ends, the better for Ukraine, Russia and the world,” the Secretary General wrote on Twitter on Wednesday .
