BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Civilian casualties in Ukraine from Russian attacks have significantly escalated in recent months, including a sharp rise in often deadly drone attacks, the UN human rights office said in a report published on Monday.
Between December 2024 and May 2025, 986 civilians were killed and 4,807 injured - a 37 per cent increase compared to the same period the previous year, OHCHR said.
'The war in Ukraine - now in its fourth year - is becoming increasingly deadly for civilians,' said Danielle Bell, Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
'We continue to document patterns of violence that are inconsistent with obligations under international humanitarian law.'
Most casualties occurred in areas under Ukrainian Government control, primarily due to Russian attacks using long-range explosive weapons in populated areas and short-range drones near frontline locations.
Nearly half of all casualties were caused by missiles, loitering munitions and air-dropped bombs in densely populated areas.
The use of short-range drones is driving the rise in civilian casualties, the report said. OHCHR verified that 207 civilians were killed and 1,365 injured in these attacks.
Among the deadliest incidents was a Russian drone strike on a civilian bus transporting employees of a mining company to work in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Eight women and two men were killed, and 57 people were injured.
'The high number of civilian casualties from the use of short-range drones, which allow operators to see their targets in real time, raises grave concerns,' Bell said.
During the reported period, Russian forces struck at least five hospitals directly. Some of the attacks used multiple loitering munitions, suggesting potential deliberate targeting of the hospitals in violation of international humanitarian law, OHCHR said.
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