the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine is more than expected

Today, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released the latest data on the number of civilians killed in Ukraine. According to the UN, over the past 12 months, 8,006 civilians have been killed in Ukraine. The previously reported death toll was down a thousand.At a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday, the High Commissioner’s spokesperson, Elisabeth Throssell, said: “Today, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, strongly condemned the increase in the number of civilian casualties resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Over the past 12 months, at least 8,006 civilians have been killed and 13,287 injured, in addition to those who have already been killed and injured as a result of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.According to the UN, more than 90% of those killed were victims of large-scale bombardments, airstrikes and the use of cruise and ballistic missiles. Most civilians were killed in their homes or while trying to meet their basic needs by shopping or trying to bring water into the house. More than 600 civilians were blown up by mines. Among the dead were 487 children.”Among the victims are the youngest and the oldest,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. “Children cannot go to school due to attacks on educational institutions, the elderly and the disabled face enormous difficulties, in some cases they cannot go to bomb shelters or are forced to stay in basements for a long time, in conditions that negatively affect their health”.Turk noted that every day human rights and international laws are violated in Ukraine, and that it is becoming more and more difficult to find a path to peace, given “the increasing human suffering and destruction “.Matilda Bonner, head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, spoke at a press conference in Geneva. “We have documented over a hundred cases of sexual violence related to this military conflict,” Bonner said. — Hundreds of cases of enforced disappearances and illegal detentions. And these are only the cases that we have been able to record now. The true extent of these violations is not yet possible to assess.UN High Commissioner Turk said this war has repercussions around the world – it has a direct impact on rising food and energy prices and exacerbates hardship in people’s lives globally, especially for vulnerable segments of the population. Turk stressed that the war in Ukraine is against all international laws, and called for “immediately arresting casualties among the civilian population.”