At least 12,000 civilians confirmed to have been killed since beginning of full-scale war, Prosecutor General says.

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At least 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, including 551 children, have been confirmed as being killed since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Presidential Office said on June 17, citing Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin. Russia's war of aggression has taken a staggering toll on Ukraine's civilian population. The U.N. said in April that it had recorded almost 11,000 civilians killed and over 20,500 injured.

The actual number is likely higher, as Russia prevents independent monitoring in the occupied areas that suffered the heaviest destruction, like Mariupol. The number of civilian deaths in the almost three month siege of Mariupol alone could have exceeded 25,000, Ukrainian officials said in November 2022. An investigation by the Associated Press in December of the same year found that the true figure could be up to three times higher.

Speaking at the global peace summit in Switzerland, Kostin emphasized that the figure of at least 12,000 represented only the confirmed deaths.

He added that law enforcement officials have documented almost 130,000 cases of war crimes committed by Russian soldiers, including more than 300 episodes of sexual violence.

Earlier in June, Kostin said that over 800 Ukrainian children have been killed since the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014.