Civilian casualties in Ukraine in July were highest since October 2022 - UN
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said that in July this year, the number of civilian deaths and injuries in Ukraine was the highest since October 2022.
According to Ukrinform, this is stated in the organisation's report.
The organisation noted that in July there was a continuation of the upward trend in the number of civilian casualties, which has been observed since March 2024.
It is noted that in July, at least 219 civilians were killed and 1,018 injured as a result of attacks.
"The number of civilian casualties in July was the highest since October 2022, when 317 civilians were killed and 795 injured. The highest number of casualties was recorded on 8 July, when the Russian armed forces launched precision-guided missiles at targets in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih (Dnipro region) and Kyiv region. In total, at least 43 civilians were killed, including 5 children, and 147 were injured, including 7 children, during the attacks on 8 July," the mission said in its report.
The UN clarified that the largest number of civilian casualties was caused when a missile or fragments of a missile shot down by air defence hit a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv (13 dead and 20 wounded), a business centre in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv (6 dead and 10 wounded), a medical centre in the Dniprovskyi district of Kyiv (9 killed and 5 injured), the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv (2 killed and 18 injured) and the administrative buildings of a mechanical repair plant in Kryvyi Rih (10 killed, 46 injured).
Overall, the vast majority of civilian casualties (90 per cent) and damage to educational and medical facilities (86 per cent) continued to occur in government-controlled territory. In particular, the 8 July attack destroyed or damaged several medical facilities across Ukraine, including the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, which was hit by a rocket that completely destroyed the building of the toxicology department.
"A detailed assessment of the missile impact site, eyewitness accounts and video footage, including that taken immediately before the missile hit, indicate that it was a direct hit on the hospital complex, rather than debris falling from an air defence interception," the mission said.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, researchers at Conflict Armament Research (CAR) found that the missile that Russia used to hit the Okhmatdyt children's hospital on 8 July was manufactured several weeks or even days before the attack.