UN reports a 31% rise in Ukraine civilian casualties in 2025, driven by intensified frontline fighting and expanded Russian long-range weapon use.
KYIV: United Nations monitors recorded more civilian deaths in Ukraine in 2025 than in any other year except 2022.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released the data on Monday.
It attributed the rise to intensified hostilities along the frontline and Russia’s expanded use of long-range weapons.
“The total civilian casualties in Ukraine in 2025 reached at least 2,514 killed and 12,142 injured, which is a 31% increase compared to 2024,” the OHCHR report stated.
Danielle Bell, head of the OHCHR’s monitoring mission in Ukraine, explained the trend.
“Our monitoring shows that this rise was driven not only by intensified hostilities along the frontline, but also by the expanded use of long-range weapons, which exposed civilians across the country to heightened risk,” Bell said.
The UN has verified almost 15,000 civilian deaths since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
The report notes the “actual extent of civilian harm … is likely considerably higher” due to verification challenges.
Many cases cannot be confirmed, and UN monitors lack access to Russian-occupied territories.
This includes the port city of Mariupol, where thousands are estimated to have died during a siege in early 2022.
The surge in casualties coincides with stalled US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war.
Russia rejected a draft peace plan last week that proposed European troop deployments in Ukraine post-conflict.
Separate analysis shows Russia made significant battlefield gains in 2025, its largest since 2022.
An AFP review of Institute for the Study of War data confirmed Moscow pressed its advantage against outgunned Ukrainian forces.
