Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago, at least 18.955 civilians have been killed or wounded in that country, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced.
The new report puts the figure at at least 7.199 civilians killed and 11.756 wounded, although the true numbers are believed to be significantly higher, the Index reports.
A total of 697 civilian casualties were recorded in January of this year alone. These data refer to violence along a front about 1.200 kilometers long, that is, to events in the Donetsk, Lugansk and Zaporozhye regions, where the fiercest battles are being fought. In that month, a high intensity of attacks on health and educational institutions was recorded, the OHCHR announced.
The High Commissioner links those attacks and the significant number of civilian casualties to Russia's use of artillery and other weapons on targets unrelated to the Ukrainian military, the report said. Most civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive munitions, including shelling, multiple rocket launchers, missiles and airstrikes, OHCHR said.
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