UN: 15,850 civilians killed in Ukraine since start of Russia's full-scale invasion, incl 791 children
According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the deaths of 15,850 civilians in Ukraine, including 791 children, have been confirmed since February 2022, while another 2,752 children have been injured, Kayoko Goto of the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs has said.
Goto said at a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday that since February 2022, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had confirmed that at least 15,850 civilians had been killed in Ukraine, including 791 children, while another 44,809 people, including 2,752 children, had been injured. She added that the actual figures were likely significantly higher.
Goto recalled that last month alone, at least 238 civilians had been killed and 1,404 injured in Ukraine, which was the highest monthly civilian casualty toll since July 2025.
The UN added that this also reflected a continuing trend of increasing harm to civilians.
She confirmed that one of the largest aerial bombardments of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 had taken place over the past week. According to reports, on May 13-14, Russia launched more than 1,500 drones and dozens of missiles targeting Ukrainian cities across the country.
Goto also said last week UN personnel in Ukraine had been involved in two alarming drone-related incidents. On May 14, a UN vehicle was attacked twice in Kherson.
The representative said the clearly marked vehicle had been part of an interagency humanitarian mission led by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and that the parties had been notified of the mission in advance. She said this followed an incident on May 12, when another clearly marked UN vehicle, which had been part of a World Food Programme humanitarian convoy, was reportedly attacked by a remotely controlled drone.
She said international law, including international humanitarian law, must be observed at all times, and that civilians, including humanitarian personnel, as well as civilian objects, must be protected.