UKRAINE, Jul. 6 — The number of casualties in Ukraine has risen by 40% over the past six months compared to the same period of 2025, reported Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Between Dec. 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026, Russian attacks killed at least 1,270 and injured 6,850 civilians in Ukraine. “The real toll is likely higher,” said Türk.

The UN said that 96% of casualties occurred in Ukrainian territory, because of Russian long-range weapons and drones. For example, on May 13-14, the Russian army launched more than 1,500 drones and missiles across eight regions of Ukraine and Kyiv, killing 27 civilians and injuring at least 83.

Türk also spoke of the Russian Jul. 2 attack on Kyiv, when the airstrikes killed at least 30 and injured 99 people. He called it one of the deadliest attacks on Kyiv.

In three days, Russian forces conducted another air attack on Ukraine’s capital, killing at least 14 and injuring 56 people, including seven children, said the State Emergency Service.

The UN also reported on civilian casualties in the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia. In particular, Türk talked about the Ukrainian attack on an educational institution in the occupied Starobilsk in the Luhansk oblast that, according to him, killed 21 civilians.

The General Staff of Ukrainian forces reported that the Starobilsk attack targeted one of the headquarters of the Russian Rubikon unit in. Kyiv hasn’t confirmed any civilian casualties during the attack, calling Russia’s statements manipulative.

“Ukrainian forces are targeting military infrastructure and facilities used for military purposes, strictly adhering to the norms of international humanitarian law and the laws and customs of war,” said the General Staff. 

The UN report offers a number of civilian casualties caused by Ukrainian airstrikes in Russia – 205 killed and 1,302 injured – but adds that they have no way to confirm it.

Also, Türk said about at least 20 cases of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) by Russian military personnel were confirmed by the UN during these six months. He noted that the majority of 129 Ukrainian POWs who were exchanged and interviewed by the UN reported being subjected to torture, cruel treatment, and sexual violence in Russian captivity.

The commissioner highlighted the Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in winter 2025-2026. According to the UN, the scale of these attacks suggests Russia intended to disable Ukraine’s energy network, which also goes against international humanitarian law.

The report also mentioned violations of the laws of occupation in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. This includes compelling people living there to swear allegiance to the Russian Federation, forcing them to join the Russian armed forces, carrying out forced displacement and deportations, and imposing their legal system.

The occupying authorities have also accelerated efforts to seize private property, the UN reports. As of December 2025, the organization documented nearly 40,000 residential properties in Ukraine at risk of confiscation.

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