UN rights office records almost 18,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded 17,831 civilian casualties in Ukraine between the end of February when Russia launched its full-scale invasion and December 26, including 6,884 killed and 10,947 injured.

“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes,” the OHCHR said in a statement.

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The actual figures are likely considerably higher, as information from some locations where hostilities are especially intense has been delayed and many reports are still awaiting corroboration, it added.

About 700 critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, including gas pipelines, power substations and bridges, have been damaged since Russia invaded, according to Yevhen Yenin, Ukraine’s deputy interior minister.

In total, more than 35,000 facilities across the country have been destroyed as a result of Russian attacks, Yenin said on television late Tuesday.

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