UN Report: Civilian Casualties in Ukraine Rise by Nearly 50%
The latest United Nations report on human rights monitoring in Ukraine indicates that civilian casualties in the country surged by almost 50% during the first five months of 2025. The document highlights that this increase is attributed to a significant rise in missile strikes by Russian forces targeting urban areas, which has escalated recently, reports 24brussels.
“Ballistic missiles, when used in densely populated areas, cause predictable and widespread damage to civilians,” stated the head of the mission, Danielle Bell, who also noted that this trend is likely to continue through the summer.
She emphasized that the timing of these strikes appears to be a calculated effort to maximize civilian casualties. “Attacks have occurred during the day, when civilians are at work, on trains, or in schools. The timing itself has made a high number of civilian casualties entirely predictable,” she remarked.
Despite peacekeeping efforts from Ukraine and Western allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains ambitious military plans for the upcoming years. According to Deputy Head of the Office of the President Pavlo Palisa, Russia aims to fully capture the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by 2025 and to create a so-called buffer zone along its northern border, with aspirations to occupy all territories east of the Dnipro River and sever Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea by 2026. Western media reports suggest that the “dirty” war is only just beginning.
