Ukraine: the number of civilian casualties in May has never been higher since the start of the war

• If Ukraine pleads for a ceasefire, Russian offensives are increasing and causing numerous losses on the Ukrainian side.
• According to a United Nations report published Friday, the month of May saw the most civilian deaths and injuries in Ukraine since the start of the war, with more than 2,000 victims recorded.

Vladimir Putin defended, in February 2022, a “special military operation” of a few days. As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) warned of the growing number of civilian casualties in a statement (nouvelle fenêtre) published Friday June 12. The organization warned that the number of civilians killed and injured in Ukraine in May has never been higher in the last four years: 2,000 civilian casualties were recorded, including 274 dead and 1,763 injured.

“Intensification of hostilities and increased use of powerful weapons in urban areas have resulted in high numbers of civilians killed and injured across the country”noted in the HRMMU report Danielle Bell, head of the Human Rights Monitoring Unit. If in previous years the number of victims increased regularly from month to month between spring and summer, in 2026 the figures follow the same trend but at a lower level. “significantly higher”warns the organization’s press release.

Dense cities in Russia’s sights

The main cause of the high number of casualties in May was Russia’s use of powerful weapons in Ukrainian urban areas. Indeed, on several occasions, missile and aerial bomb attacks in areas with high population densities have killed and injured dozens of civilians at a time. Last Sunday, May 5, an aerial bomb attack on an industrial zone in the city of Zaporizhia, in southern Ukraine, left 12 dead and 42 injured. Less than ten days later, on Thursday, May 14, a missile hit an apartment building in the capital of kyiv and killed 24 civilians, in addition to injuring at least seven.Â

“The harm to civilians that we documented was not limited to communities close to the front line”next to Danielle Bell. “In cities across Ukraine, repeated attacks using missiles and aerial bombs have killed and injured civilians far from active ground combat zones.”she lamented. Near the front line, short-range drone attacks have been the main cause of civilian casualties. In May, 64 individuals were killed by short-range drones and 539 were injured: there have never been as many victims of this type of weapon as during “any other month” since the start of the war. In Kherson, in the south of the country, where 14 civilians have been killed and 221 injured since the start of the conflict, 6 died and 132 were injured following attacks carried out using short-range drones.

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If 47 killed and 298 injured were also recorded on the Russian side in May, according to official figures transmitted by the Russian Federation, the vast majority of victims, during this month of bloody spring, were on territory controlled by the Ukrainian government.