Civilian casualties in Russia’s war against Ukraine rose by 37 percent in the first half of 2026, the United Nations said Tuesday, as Moscow’s missile and drone attacks increasingly hit cities and communities far from the front line.
Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, told reporters in Geneva that the mission documented 1,396 civilians killed and 7,978 injured in Ukraine during the first six months of the year, AFP reported.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
That represented a 37 percent increase from the same period last year and “almost doubled what we documented in 2024,” Bell said.
The escalation was partly driven by the growing use of long-range ballistic missiles and drones, which are increasingly “affecting densely populated urban areas that are far away from the front line,” she added.
She pointed to a missile strike earlier this month in Kyiv that hit a residential complex, collapsing an entire section of the building, killing 19 civilians and injuring 76 others.
Ukraine has endured repeated Russian missile and drone barrages targeting cities, energy infrastructure and civilian areas, with Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa and other cities regularly coming under attack.
The UN said long-range weapons were one of the key factors behind the rising civilian toll.
FPV drones changing life near the front
The second major driver of the growing casualty toll was the widespread use of short-range drones and glide bombs in frontline areas, Bell said.
Syrsky Dismissed as Commander-in-Chief, Drapaty Replaces Him
She highlighted the impact of first-person view drones, or FPVs, whose operators can see targets in real time.
“In the first six months of this year, civilian casualties from short-range drones increased by 65 percent,” Bell said.
During recent visits to Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kharkiv and Dnipro, civilians told UN monitors they felt “tracked by FPV drones” while carrying out ordinary daily activities — gardening, walking dogs, feeding animals, going to shops, driving, walking or cycling outdoors.
“These drones are fundamentally changing civilian life in frontline communities,” she said.
UN calls for investigations
UN Human Rights Office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said civilians and civilian infrastructure are strictly protected under international humanitarian law.
“Any such deliberate attack is a war crime,” he said, according to AFP.
“There needs to be investigations in all attacks, both in Ukraine and in Russia, where civilians were impacted, killed, or injured, in order to determine the responsibilities and to achieve accountability and justice,” Al-Kheetan said.
The UN warning comes as US-led talks on ending Russia’s nearly four-and-a-half-year war against Ukraine remain stalled and Moscow continues daily missile, drone and bomb attacks across the country.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
Russian Oil Refining Slumps to Lowest Level Since 2005
