UN: Civilian casualties in Ukraine reach three-year high in July

The number of civilian deaths and injuries in Ukraine due to Russia’s full-scale aggression hit a three-year high in July 2025, according to an updated report from by United Nations’ Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).

“With 286 civilians killed and 1,388 injured, the July casualty number was the highest since May 2022, topping also those for June 2025,” the report reads. 

This represents a 22.5 percent increase compared to July 2024. HRMMU confirmed civilian casualties in 18 of Ukraine’s 24 regions.

“For the second month in a row, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine hits a new three-year high,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU.

Although fewer long-range missile strikes were recorded last month, they still accounted for nearly 40 percent of all casualties, particularly in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Kharkiv.

“On July 31, for example, a missile and loitering munitions attack on Kyiv caused the highest verified number of civilian casualties in the capital since the start of the full-scale invasion, with 31 people killed and 171 injured,” the report reads. 

Most of the victims, including five children, were inside a residential building struck by a missile.

The increase in civilian casualties in July compared to the previous month occurred mainly in government-controlled areas along the front lines, reflecting intensified attempts by Russian forces to seize territory. 

Close-range drones were the second most common cause of civilian deaths, while aerial bombs dropped by Russian forces were the primary driver of the sharp rise in casualties.

“Whether you are in a hospital or a prison, at home or at work, close to or far away from the frontline, if you are in Ukraine today, you are at risk of getting killed or injured by the war,” Bell said. “The risk is significantly higher than last year and it continues to rise.”

HRMMU has documented at least 13,883 civilian deaths, including 726 children, and 35,548 injuries, including 2,234 children, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.