The UN recorded 641 cases of civilian deaths or injuries in Ukraine in January 2024 due to strikes by the Russian Federation

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has expressed alarm over the escalation of Russian missile and drone attacks and the growing number of civilian casualties across Ukraine. In its monthly report on the situation with the protection of civilians, the mission reported that in January 2024 it documented 641 cases of killing or wounding of civilians in Ukraine (158 killed and 483 injured), which is 37% higher than in November 2023, when the trend before the decrease in the number of victims, which was observed during 2023, changed to the opposite. At the same time, the mission emphasizes, the number of injured children more than doubled during the same period: 40 children died or were injured in January compared to 18 injured in November.

The UN noted that the number of dead or wounded children often increases during shelling of settlements far from the front line, as many families have evacuated from the frontline areas.

During almost two years of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the UN mission recorded the deaths of more than 10,000 civilians and the injuries of 20,000.

The UN also commented on Russia’s shelling of Ukraine today, when the Russian armed forces “launched dozens of missiles and drones at targets throughout Ukraine, in particular in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv”, as a result of which, according to local authorities, at least five civilians were killed. and dozens were injured.

“The injury and death of families and children is a predictable and tragic consequence of the use of powerful explosive weapons against targets in major cities,” said the head of the monitoring mission, Danielle Bell.

According to the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, on February 7, Russia carried out several waves of attacks on the territory of Ukraine, using 64 attack UAVs, cruise, ballistic and anti-aircraft guided missiles. The Ukrainian military shot down 29 rockets and 15 “shaheds”.