It covers the interval from 1 December 2024 to 31 Might 2025, throughout which 986 civilians had been killed and 4,807 injured – a 37 per cent improve in comparison with the identical interval the earlier yr.
“The battle in Ukraine – now in its fourth yr – is turning into more and more lethal for civilians,” stated Danielle Bell, Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).
“We proceed to doc patterns of violence which are inconsistent with obligations beneath worldwide humanitarian regulation.”
Concern over use of short-range drones
Most casualties occurred in areas beneath Ukrainian Authorities management, primarily as a consequence of Russian assaults utilizing long-range explosive weapons in populated areas and short-range drones close to frontline places.
Practically half of all casualties had been brought on by missiles, loitering munitions and air-dropped bombs in densely populated areas. At the very least three assaults concerned using missiles with fragmentation warheads which detonated above floor and scattered fragments throughout giant open areas, killing and injuring many civilians without delay.
Using short-range drones is driving the rise in civilian casualties, the report stated. OHCHR verified that 207 civilians had been killed and 1,365 injured in these assaults.
Among the many deadliest incidents was a Russian drone strike on a civilian bus transporting staff of a mining firm to work within the Dnipropetrovsk area. Eight girls and two males had been killed, and 57 individuals had been injured.
“The excessive variety of civilian casualties from using short-range drones, which permit operators to see their targets in actual time, raises grave considerations,” Ms. Bell stated.
“Our findings strongly recommend a failure to differentiate between civilian and navy targets, and to take all possible precautions to confirm the navy nature of these targets – or worse, an intentional resolution to not.”
Throughout the identical interval, Russian forces struck no less than 5 hospitals straight. Among the assaults used a number of loitering munitions, suggesting potential deliberate focusing on of the hospitals in violation of worldwide humanitarian regulation.
Prisoners of battle
Critical violations in opposition to prisoners of battle (POWs) additionally stay a serious concern, in accordance with the report. OHCHR documented credible allegations that no less than 35 Ukrainian POWs and one Russian POW had been executed in the course of the reporting interval.
Workers interviewed 117 not too long ago launched Ukrainian POWs and two detained medical personnel, practically all of whom described being tortured and ill-treated in captivity. This included extreme beatings, electrical shocks, sexual violence, canine assaults, and deliberate humiliation, usually carried out by personnel carrying balaclavas to hide their identities.
Ms. Bell stated the continued brutalization of Ukrainian prisoners of battle is just not solely inhumane, however a severe violation of worldwide regulation.
“These usually are not remoted incidents – they level to well-documented patterns of widespread and systematic torture that demand pressing and unambiguous accountability, and measures towards prevention,” she stated.
In the meantime, greater than half of the Russian POWs and third-country nationals held by Ukraine additionally reported abuse – together with torture, ill-treatment, threats, and internment in unofficial services – which principally occurred in transit locations earlier than arrival at official locations of internment.
Rights considerations in Russian-occupied areas
The report highlights ongoing human rights considerations with Ukrainian civilians unlawfully detained by Russian authorities, predominantly in occupied territory. Individuals who have been launched described torture, ill-treatment, and dire situations of detention.
Ukrainians in occupied territory confronted elevated coercion to undertake Russian citizenship. OHCHR documented over 16,000 houses listed by Russian occupation authorities as probably “deserted” and due to this fact liable to being confiscated.
Displaced residents confronted extreme authorized and logistical obstacles, in addition to safety dangers, to reclaim their property.
Ukrainian kids recruited
One other situation lined within the report is the recruitment and use of Ukrainian kids “for sabotage actions of accelerating gravity in opposition to Ukrainian navy targets.”
The kids reportedly had been recruited by unidentified actors, probably affiliated with Russia, in accordance with Ukrainian regulation enforcement authorities. A few of these kids had been killed or injured, whereas others are going through prosecution after being enticed by way of social media to commit arson or plant explosives.
“Utilizing kids to commit acts of sabotage or violence exploits their vulnerability and endangers their lives,” Ms. Bell stated. “It compounds their struggling by exposing them to violence, coercion, and harsh authorized penalties.”
OHCHR additionally voiced concern over the scenario of older individuals, primarily girls, in addition to individuals with disabilities, who stay at disproportionate danger, notably in frontline areas.
Many are unable to evacuate as a consequence of poverty and restricted housing choices, whereas those that can usually face lengthy stays in shelters that lack acceptable services, or they’re positioned in institutional settings as a result of absence of appropriate alternate options.
