Civilian death toll in Ukraine tops 3,000, U.N. says

Village damaged during fighting in Ukraine
Village damaged during fighting in Ukraine Photo by Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

More than 3,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights announced Monday.

According to Reuters, the OHCHR put the total at 3,153 but "said that the real toll was likely to be considerably higher, citing access difficulties and ongoing corroboration efforts."

On Friday, the death toll stood at 2,899 killed — including 210 children — and 3,235 injured for a total of 6,134 civilian casualties. The vast majority of these deaths and injuries occurred in Ukrainian-controlled territory, but the U.N. also notes that 94 civilians have been killed and 370 injured in the Russian-backed separatist republics in eastern Ukraine.

"Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," the OHCHR reported.

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