UN monitoring mission: War killed 1,028 civilians in Ukraine in Feb-July

Danielle Bell, Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said this at the presentation of a new report on the situation with human rights in Ukraine, which covers the period from February 1 to July 31, 2023, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Between February 1 and July 31, hostilities killed at least 1,028 civilians and injured 3,593. That is, on average, nearly six civilians killed and 20 injured every single day," Bell said.

She said that the majority of the casualties, or 86%, took place in the territory controlled by Ukraine and, therefore, were likely a result of attacks carried out by the Russian Federation. Explosive weapons with wide area effects caused more than 90% of the casualties, she said.

"A significant number of civilian casualties on both sides near the front line [were] killed or injured by explosive weapons such as multiple launch rocket systems which should not be used in populated areas," Bell said.

According to her, cluster munitions also caused dozens of civilian casualties in government-controlled territory. In this context, she noted that the use of cluster munitions in populated areas poses significant risks to civilians due to their indiscriminate and potentially disproportionate effects and a high risk of unexploded submunitions.

Bell also noted that hundreds of civilians were killed or injured by missiles and loitering munitions far from the front lines in waves of attacks launched by Russian forces.

The United Nations earlier confirmed that at least 9,177 civilians had been killed and 15,993 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion until July 8, 2023.