Civilian casualties in Ukraine up sharply in 2025, UN monitor says

An increase in the use of long-range weapons by Russia has led to more casualties in Ukraine, according to a United Nations monitor.Published On 12 Jan 2026Last year was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022, as casualties soared amid flaring hostilities along the front line and Russia’s expanded use of long-range weapons, the Ukraine" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="10589" data-entity-type="organization">United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said.In a report published on Monday, the UN monitor said that “the total civilian casualties in Ukraine in 2025 reached at least 2,514 killed and 12,142 injured, which is a 31 percent increase compared to 2024 … and a 70 percent increase compared to 2023”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Ukraine calls on allies to raise pressure as Russia fires Oreshnik missilelist 2 of 3Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,416list 3 of 3Russia hits Ukraine with Oreshnik hypersonic missile: Why it mattersend of listThe vast majority ⁠of the casualties in the Russia-Ukraine-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="1200" data-entity-type="event">Russia-Ukraine war that were verified by the watchdog occurred in Ukrainian government-controlled territory from attacks launched by Russian armed ​forces, the report found.Increased efforts ‍by Russian armed forces to capture territory in 2025 resulted in the killing and injuring of civilians, destruction of vital infrastructure, halting of essential services and new waves of displacement in front-line areas, the monitor said.Almost two-thirds of all casualties last ‍year occurred in front-line ⁠areas, with older people particularly affected as they remained in their villages. Civilian casualties caused by short-range drones also increased sharply, it added.“[But our] monitoring shows that this rise was driven not only by intensified hostilities along the front line, but also by the expanded use of long-range weapons, which exposed civilians across the country to heightened risk,” Danielle Bell, head of the UN monitoring mission, said in a media release attached to the report.