UN reports sharp rise in civilian casualties in Ukraine-Russia war

The United Nations said civilian casualties in the war between Russia and Ukraine rose by 37 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.

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. She said that was almost double what the mission documented in 2024.

Russia and Ukraine both deny targeting civilians. The source said both countries have increased daily strikes against each other in recent months, while US-led talks aimed at ending the nearly four-and-a-half-year conflict remain stalled.

Bell said the escalation was partly driven by the growing use of long-range ballistic missiles and drones, which she said were affecting densely populated urban areas far from the front line. She cited a missile strike in Kyiv earlier this month that hit a residential complex, collapsed an entire section of the building, killed 19 civilians and injured 76 others.

Bell also said there appeared to be a significant increase in civilian casualties inside Russia because of Ukraine's growing use of long-range weapons. Citing what she called credible Russian open-source reporting, she said 250 civilians were killed and 1,596 injured in attacks inside Russia during the first six months of 2026. She said that represented a 121 percent increase in civilian casualties in Russia compared with last year.

Bell said another driver of civilian casualties was the widespread use of short-range drones and glide bombs in frontline areas. She highlighted first-person-view drones, which allow an operator to see a target in real time. She said civilian casualties from short-range drones rose by 65 percent in the first six months of the year.

Bell said people in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kharkiv and Dnipro had told UN monitors they felt tracked by FPV drones while carrying out ordinary activities such as gardening, walking dogs, feeding animals, going to shops, driving, walking or cycling outdoors.

UN Human Rights Office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected under international humanitarian law, and said any deliberate attack against them is a war crime. He called for investigations into all attacks in Ukraine and Russia in which civilians were killed or injured, to determine responsibility and seek accountability.