The war in Ukraine claimed the lives of at least 6,665 civilians, and another 10,368 were injured – UN

Casualties among civilians from February 24, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, to November 27 are 17,023 civilians (a week earlier – 16,784), including 6,665 dead (6,595), the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported on Monday.

“The cause of the majority of the recorded cases of death or injury of civilians was the use of explosive weapons with a large impact zone, in particular, heavy artillery and rocket launchers, as well as rocket and airstrikes,” the document says in relation to UN data.

This applies, for example, to such settlements as Mariupol (Donetsk region), Izyum (Kharkiv region), Lysychansk, Popasna and Severodonetsk (Luhansk region), where, according to reports, numerous cases of civilian deaths or injuries have been recorded.

According to confirmed UN data, 2,601 men, 1,783 women, 209 boys and 173 girls died, while the gender of 37 children and 1,852 adults has not yet been determined.

Among the 10,368 wounded – 304 boys and 215 girls, as well as 250 children, the sex of which has not yet been determined.

Compared with the data for November 20, four children were killed and another 14 were injured.

If previously the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the number of casualties was published daily, and then only on working days, since July it has become weekly. This summary, like the previous one, shows data by month.

According to them, March remains the deadliest month for civilians, with at least 3,333 deaths. In April, according to the publication of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the number of civilian deaths due to the war decreased to 702, in May – to 473, in June – to 374 and in July – to 360. In the first five days of the war, from 24 355 people died by February 28, 305 in August, 312 in September, 286 in October, and 95 on November 21, the UN notes.

The number of injured in September – 926 – was higher than October – 787 and August – 895, and slightly lower than the previous months: July – 1,100, June – 1,030, May – 1,016, while in April and March, respectively, 1,254 and 2,414 were injured. people

According to the summary, 143 people died and another 448 were injured from large-area explosive weapons in November, while 9 people died and 36 were injured from mines and explosive objects – the consequences of war (7% of total losses).

According to the UN, in November, 84% of the victims were in government-controlled territories.

The summary traditionally states that the increase in indicators against the previous summary should not be counted only for cases after November 20, because during this period the administration verified a certain number of cases for the previous days.

The UN called the humanitarian situation in the south of Ukraine “terrible” and “critical” due to the lack of heat, electricity and water. In Mykolaiv alone, almost 250,000 people faced this problem.

The representative of the UN, Stephane Dujarric, said that the coordinator of the UN system in Ukraine, Denise Brown, visited Kherson and Mykolaiv last weekend. According to her, people who leave Kherson go to Mykolaiv.

“Several heating points have already been installed in Mykolaiv to help people who cannot heat their homes. Workers of humanitarian organizations are providing materials and generators to keep these places working,” said Dujarric.

He added that the UN hopes, with the support of the authorities, to cover the basic needs of the people in Kherson, if it is possible to maintain the same level of aid that has been sent over the past two weeks.

“However, the situation with water, heating and electricity remains difficult, although the supply of electricity is gradually being restored,” the UN representative added.

In 2022, $3.1 billion in humanitarian aid was provided through the UN, but continued funding is important to “sustain the momentum or response”, especially during the winter months.

“We remain concerned about the plight of civilians in Ukraine, especially as winter approaches. We are working to support people with services and supplies to ensure they can be protected and warm during these harsh months,” Dujarric said.

On November 27, it was announced in Kherson that after a massive missile attack by the Russian Federation, electricity was restored to 17% of consumers. The head of the region assured that in the coming days electricity will appear in all residents of the region.

Earlier, British intelligence explained why Kherson remains vulnerable to enemy fire. The occupiers are shelling the city from the left bank of the Dnieper.

On November 26, Anatoly Prokopchuk, a deacon of the local Church of Evangelical Christians, and his son Oleksandr were found murdered. Their bodies were discovered in the forest under the occupied Novaya Kakhovka on the left bank of the Kherson Region. A few days before that, they were kidnapped by the Russian military.

This was reported by the Center for Journalistic Investigations with reference to friends of the victims.

Immediately after the disappearance of the Prokopchuks, relatives and friends posted a search notice on social networks. It said that at around 7 p.m. on November 22, Anatoly and Oleksandr, who were working in their garage, were taken away by the Russian military in the direction of the nearby village of Raiske in their friend’s car, a silver Honda Odyssey. It is unknown what the occupiers wanted from the Prokopchuks.

Friends of those killed said: “On November 27, their relatives informed us that Anatoliy and Sashka were found shot dead in the forest near the city the day before. The car disappeared.”

Anatoly Prokopchuk, born in 1970, was the father of seven children – a daughter and six sons, including one minor. His dead son Oleksandr was 19 years old.

The dead will be buried on November 29.

At the beginning of November, the Ukrainian military managed to free the right bank of the Kherson region, but the left bank, including Nova Kakhovka, is still under occupation. The Russians are committing war crimes there, including kidnapping officials, activists and other residents.

Journalists received photographic evidence and results of a DNA examination, which indicate that the children’s writer Volodymyr Vakulenko was killed in Kharkiv region during the occupation.

As noted, Volodymyr Vakulenko is a children’s writer, poet and laureate of numerous literary awards. Volodymyr disappeared in the village of Kapitolivka, near Izyum, in March 2022. The writer’s parents searched for their only son for more than half a year. Later it became known that the Russian occupiers kidnapped him.

After Ukrainian troops liberated occupied Izyum, a mass burial site was discovered in the city. As of the beginning of September, more than four hundred bodies were found there. The burial was carried out by the local funeral service, which kept a journal with information about the deceased, in this journal, under number 319, the writer’s data were indicated.

At first, the law enforcement officers denied the information that Volodymyr Vakulenko was buried in this grave.

The body of the writer Vakulenko, who disappeared in occupied Izyum, was found in a mass grave.

On October 20, the spokesman of the prosecutor’s office of the Kharkiv region made a statement that they discovered the body of an unknown woman at number 319.

However, investigators found a photo of body number 319 taken before the burial. The documents of Volodymyr Vakulenko have been shot through on it. Also – a tattoo on the arm, similar to what the writer had. Now, the data about the death of the writer have been confirmed by a DNA examination.

Vakulenko was left with a minor son. The child has a disability and needs help. The man was almost never separated from his son.