Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said that Russian forces have killed more civilians than soldiers. “I want this to be heard not only in Kyiv but all over the world,” Reznikov told Reuters.
According to the UN high commissioner for human rights, 549 civilians had been killed and 957 injured since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Of the number of casualties, 41 were children. According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (ONCHR), the actual figures could be higher, “especially in the government-controlled territory and especially in recent days.”
“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes,” the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights told CNBC. The ONCHR said that getting information from areas where high-intensity conflict is going on was difficult and that more information was yet to be corroborated.
Reportedly there have been hundreds of casualties in Volnovakha, Mariupol and Izium and the ONCHR report did not include any data from these areas. The data they have been able to collect is from contact persons and partners in the area where conflict has taken place.
