UN: 8,983 confirmed civilian deaths due to Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed[1] on June 5 that at least 8,983 civilians died and 15,442 were injured in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on," the agency's report said. This refers mainly to the occupied cities of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast and Lysychansk, Popasna, and Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast, where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties.

Out of the total number of 24,425 casualties, 13,079 of them were reported in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, predominantly (9,877) in the government-controlled parts. In May, the OHCHR has confirmed 174 civilian deaths and 684 injured. From this number, 721 casualties (84%) were reported in the Government-controlled territories and 803 of them (94%) of injuries and deaths were caused by explosive weapons with wide area effects.

The rest of the casualties in May were caused by mines and explosive remnants of war. "Explosive weapons with wide area effects" refers[2] to artillery, rockets, mortars, and other projectiles fired in salvos over a wide area.

One onslaught, one family, one lucky chance: Surviving Mariupol theater bombing Viktoria Dubovitska, 24, and her two children survived the Russian bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theater by pure luck.

Like hundreds of Mariupol residents, Dubovitska's family was sheltering near the theater's main stage. But on March 16, her two-year-old daughter Anastasia got sick, and the famil...

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press.

He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

1. ^ confirmed (www.ohchr.org)
2. ^ refers (news.un.org)
3. ^ One onslaught, one family, one lucky chance: Surviving Mariupol theater bombingViktoria Dubovitska, 24, and her two children survived the Russian bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theater by pure luck. Like hundreds of Mariupol residents, Dubovitska's family was sheltering near the theater's main stage.

   But on March 16, her two-year-old daughter Anastasia got sick, and the famil... (kyivindependent.com)