Ukraine’s civilian death toll continues to climb as Russia’s invasion persists, with United Nations officials warning that civilian deaths and “general human suffering” are “rising daily.”
As of Friday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Thursday that 1,546 civilian casualties were reported in Ukraine since Feb. 24. The office recorded 564 people killed in Ukraine and 982 hurt.
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The office has repeatedly noted that it believes casualty statistics are actually “considerably higher.” It adds that most of the reported civilian casualties “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 air strikes.”
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said Friday it has verified 29 attacks on health care facilities, workers and ambulances in the hostilities, including a high-profile one on a maternity hospital in southeastern Mariupol on Wednesday. In those, 12 people have been killed and 34 injured, WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said in an email to The Associated Press.
The figures from the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, which run through the Feb. 24 start, focus on civilians in general. It uses a strict methodology and counts only confirmed casualties. It acknowledges that its tally is likely to underestimate the real toll.
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“Civilians are being killed and maimed in what appear to be indiscriminate attacks, with Russian forces using explosive weapons with wide area effects in or near populated areas,” spokeswoman Liz Throssell told a U.N. briefing.
“Civilian casualties are rising daily, as is general human suffering,” Throssell said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
