The United Nations estimates that about 13,000 civilians have been killed since the start of the war in Ukraine, UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher told the Security Council on Tuesday.
According to data from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), at least 12,910 civilian deaths in Ukraine – including 682 children – have been confirmed, and nearly 30,700 were injured between February 24, 2022 and March 31, 2025.
Fletcher added that the true toll is likely to be far greater. More than 170 civilians were reported killed between the end of February and the end of March alone, he said.
Russian strikes continue to claim civilian lives. Last Friday, an airstrike on a residential area in the south-eastern city of Kryvyi Rih, killed 20 people – including nine children.
Fletcher emphasized that international law is being eroded in Ukraine and other conflicts worldwide.
“Not only are we not standing robustly for international law, but in some cases, we are supporting its debasement,” Fletcher asserted. “That’s the common thread that links these conflicts. And if your principles apply only to your opponents, then they are not humanitarian principles.”
Ukraine initiated emergency Security Council meeting
On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kiev requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council following the Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih.
Sybiha said this was the largest number of Ukrainian children killed in a single attack since 2022, the year that Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine starting the war.
“Russia must cease its terror against Ukrainian children and civilians, respond to US full ceasefire proposal, which Ukraine has accepted, and end the war,” he wrote on X.
“A robust international response to Russian atrocities is critical. Such terror should never be normalized. We call for both strong condemnation and firm action,” the minister said.
Moscow has confirmed the attack, but spoke of a “high-precision strike,” which it said hit Ukrainian commanders and their Western instructors. The Ukrainian General Staff in Kiev have described the Russian claim as a lie.
Images of the scene of the attack published by the Ukrainian side showed no evidence of any military targets.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a large-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.
A pillar of smoke rises in the Obolonskyi district following a Russian ballistic missile strike that killed one person and injured three others early Sunday. Eugen Kotenko/Ukrinform/dpa