The number of civilian casualties in Ukraine in July reached a three-year high, with only the beginning of the Russian invasion seeing more - UN
Kyiv • UNN
According to the UN, July 2025 saw 286 civilian deaths and 1388 injuries, the highest figure since May 2022. In total, since the start of the Russian invasion, at least 13,883 civilians have been killed and 35,548 injured.
The number of civilian deaths and injuries in Ukraine in July 2025 reached a monthly high for the past three years, with the number of casualties in the first seven months of this year exceeding the same period last year by 48%, and a total of 13,883 civilian deaths and 35,548 injuries recorded since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported on August 13, writes UNN.
In July, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine reached a new three-year high. In July, 286 civilians were killed and 1,388 were injured, the highest figure since May 2022 and exceeding the statistics for June 2025.
The UN mission confirmed civilian casualties in 18 of the country's 24 regions.
"For the second consecutive month, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine has reached a three-year high," said mission head Danielle Bell. "Only in the first three months after the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation were there more killed and wounded than in the last month."
Almost 40% of casualties were caused by the use of long-range weapons, including missiles and loitering munitions - 89 killed and 572 injured
According to the UN mission, "on July 31, a missile attack on Kyiv and loitering munition strikes caused the largest number of civilian casualties in the capital since the start of the full-scale invasion: 31 people were killed and 171 were injured." "Most of the dead, including five children, were in a residential building hit by a missile," the report said.
The increase in civilian casualties in July compared to June, as stated, "occurred mainly in government-controlled areas of Ukraine along the front line, reflecting intense attempts by Russian armed forces to seize territory."
"The second most impactful cause of civilian deaths was short-range drones - 24% of casualties, or 64 killed and 337 injured. Losses from such drones significantly increased compared to July 2024," as recorded in the mission's bulletin from June 2025.
Aviation bombs dropped by Russian troops became the main cause of a sharp increase in civilian casualties: 276 people were affected (67 killed and 209 injured) in July 2025, compared to 114 (34 killed and 80 injured) in June
As reported, for example, on July 28, aviation bombs hit a correctional colony in the village of Bilenke, Zaporizhzhia region, "killing 16 prisoners and injuring at least 43, all men." On July 31, an aviation bomb, as stated, hit a residential building in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, resulting in the death of at least five civilians.
The UN mission emphasizes that the high number of civilian casualties in July continued the upward trend in 2025.
The number of casualties in the first seven months of 2025 exceeded the same period in 2024 by 48%
"Whether you are in a hospital or a prison, at home or at work, close to the front line or far from it, you risk death or injury as a result of the war in Ukraine today," Bell emphasized. "The risk is significantly higher than last year and continues to grow."
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has documented the deaths of at least 13,883 civilians, including 726 children, and 35,548 injured, including 2,234 children