Over 12,340 civilian deaths have been recorded in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Below-Secretary-Basic of the United Nations Workplace for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) Izumi Nakamitsu stated throughout a U.N. Safety Council assembly on Dec. 20.

The U.N. report on casualties comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin escalates threats in opposition to Ukrainian cities, together with threatening on Dec. 19 to launch an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) in opposition to Kyiv.

The Workplace of the United Nations Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded civilian casualties in Ukraine from Feb. 24, 2022 to Nov. 30, 2024, Nakamitsu said. Over 12,340 civilians had been killed and greater than 27,836 had been wounded throughout that interval.

The U.N. discovered that in 2024, aerial bombs and long-range weapons triggered a higher variety of casualties than within the earlier 12 months, Nakamitsu stated.

Aerial bombs killed 341 civilians and wounded 1,803 between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, based on information from the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The figures characterize a threefold improve in deaths and sixfold improve in accidents from 2023.

The OHCHR additionally discovered that 42% of Ukrainian civilian casualties within the month of November resulted from Russian assaults with long-range weapons, a "vital improve" from prior months.

Russia intensified aerial strikes in opposition to densely populated Ukrainian cities in October and November 2024. Drone strikes surged to record levels and Russia dropped at least 100 guided bombs per day almost each day between Nov. 1-20.

Repeated assaults in opposition to residential neighborhoods in giant cities, together with Kharkiv, Odesa, and Sumy, led to excessive numbers of killed and injured victims.

Russia on Nov. 21 launched an Oreshnik missile in opposition to town of Dnipro, supposedly as a response to the U.S. and the U.Ok. lifting restrictions on Ukraine's long-range strikes inside Russia.

Putin has since used threats of Oreshnik strikes to intimidate Ukraine and scare off Western support for Kyiv.

Nakamitsu stated that Russia's escalating assaults are trigger for "grave considerations."

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