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NBC News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Ukraine suffers most civilian casualties in 3 years as Russia ramps up aerial attacks
Russia launched more aerial attacks on Ukraine in June than in any other month of the war so far, causing the highest number of civilians killed or wounded since the conflict broke out more than three years ago, according to a tally by the United Nations and independent researchers. The onslaught of armed drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles raining down on Ukrainian towns and cities has underscored Russia's determination to press on with its war against Ukraine despite President Donald Trump's efforts to halt the bloodshed. The Russian aerial attacks have been steadily increasing since July 2024, with the number of strikes exceeding 2,500 in each of the first six months of this year, according to the nonprofit Institute for the Study of War, which cited figures from Ukraine's defense ministry. The difference over the same period last year is stark. Between January and June, Russian drone and missile attacks numbered 23,245, a roughly 605 % increase compared to the same period last year when there were 3,300, according to the Washington-based institute. The expansion was driven by a massive increase in drone assaults, which jumped from 2,264 in the first half of 2024 to 22,495 in the first half of 2025, according to the tally. As a result of those aerial attacks, the toll of civilians killed and wounded increased to 6,719, up about 53% from the same period in 2024, according to U.N. monitors. The civilian toll included 1,091 deaths and 5,628 wounded. 'Civilians across Ukraine are facing levels of suffering we have not seen in over three years,' Danielle Bell, head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said in a statement. 'The surge in long-range missile and drone strikes across the country has brought even more death and destruction to civilians far away from the frontline.' June marked the highest monthly civilian casualty toll in three years, with 232 killed and 1,343 wounded, according to the United Nations. In the month of June, Russian forces fired 5,681 drones and missiles on Ukraine – the highest number since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The aerial assault included 5,438 drones and 243 missiles, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Russia has kept up the tempo of drone and missile attacks in July, forcing Ukrainians in cities to seek shelter underground in subway stations. Smoke rose over Kyiv on Wednesday and Thursday night from Russian drone and missile strikes that ignited fires and destroyed apartment buildings, NBC News and The Associated Press reported from the capital. On Wednesday night, Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones on Ukraine, along with missiles. On Thursday night, 397 Iranian-designed Shahed and decoy drones were launched against Kyiv and other regions, according to Ukrainian officials. With Russian troops unable to score a breakthrough on the ground despite a significant manpower advantage, Moscow has stepped up its missile and drone attacks on the country's cities to try to overwhelm air defenses, undermine the resolve of the government in Kyiv before any peace talks, and break the will of the wider population, current and former Western diplomats say. 'These attacks are on civilian targets, so it's an attempt to demoralize Ukrainians, to convince Ukrainians that they can't win,' said William Taylor, a former career U.S. diplomat who served in Kyiv. Christina Harward, a Russian analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, said previous attempts by Russia to damage morale have failed. The air attacks also indicated Russia's weapons production and stockpiles had increased, especially long-range drones, Harward said. 'Russia may also be trying to distract from the battlefield, where Russian gains on the front are still relatively slow and are coming at huge personnel costs,' she said. Before he took office in January, Trump had pledged to end the war in 'a day.' He initially suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government were the main obstacle to bringing an end to the conflict, which began with Russia's invasion of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But in recent days, Trump's tone has shifted, with the president expressing impatience and frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for offering what he called 'meaningless' moves toward peace.
Scoop
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Short-Range Drone Attacks Deepen Crisis On Ukrainian Frontlines
27 June 2025 According to the rights mission, while the majority (89 per cent) of civilian casualties were documented in Ukrainian-controlled territory as a result of attacks by the Russian armed forces, the remaining occurred in territory occupied by Russian authorities, including in attacks that struck public transport and clearly marked ambulances. While individually less destructive than artillery or missiles, 'the sheer scale and increasing frequency of short-range drone attacks have made them one of the deadliest weapons in Ukraine,' said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU. Not compliant with laws of war Forcing residents to drastically restrict their movements, limiting access to essential goods and affecting livelihoods, the large number of short-range drone attacks exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation. Most short-range drones have on-board cameras that provide operators with a real-time view of potential targets. However, the high number of civilian casualties resulting from drone attacks suggests that these weapons have been deployed in ways that violate international humanitarian law, in particular the principles of distinction and precaution, HRMMU noted. In some instances, drone operators appear to have intentionally attacked civilians or civilian objects, including medical transport and personnel, which would amount to war crimes, it added. 'It is clear that these weapons are not being used in compliance with the laws of war,' Ms. Bell said. Call for accountability Information verified by the mission showed that the number of civilian casualties from short-range drones steadily increased in late 2023 and early 2024, before spiking in July 2024 and reaching record numbers in April 2025. Casualties continued in May and June, such as during a strike on a minibus in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, on 23 June, in which the 65-year-old driver was killed. On 22 May, a 58-year-old woman, a local volunteer, was killed in a frontline village in Kharkiv region when a drone dropped a munition on the balcony of a two-story residential building, according to the HRMMU. 'Each of these attacks must be investigated,' Ms. Bell said. 'Those responsible for targeting civilians and humanitarian personnel must be held to account.'
American Military News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
Death toll from Russian missile attack on Dnipro rises; Ukraine claims to stabilize Sumy front line
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. The death toll from a Russian missile strike on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region has risen to 22, officials said, as Ukraine's top commander claimed the military has effectively halted Russia's offensive in the northeastern Sumy region. 'Unfortunately, the number of victims of missile attacks on Dnipro has increased,' said Serhiy Lysak, the head of the regional military administration. The number of wounded has also risen to more than 300 people, the officials added. Russian missile strikes on June 24 left over dozens of educational and medical facilities in the region damaged. It had also targeted a passenger train departing from the regional center, Dnipro. Bordering Ukraine's war-torn Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya regions, the city of Dnipro is one of the country's key hubs for internally displaced people and volunteers. 'Everything was shattered… There were so many people that even the train conductor had to carry someone's baby,' a passenger from the damaged train told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service shortly after the attack. UN human rights monitors described the consequence of the Russian attack as a 'foreseeable' tragedy. 'Ballistic missiles, when used in densely populated areas, cause predictable and widespread harm to civilians, as demonstrated by these recent attacks,' said Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. 'The timing alone made the high number of civilian casualties entirely foreseeable,' she added. Throughout Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine, the country's leadership has continuously denied targeting civilian infrastructure. On June 26, Russian military forces conducted close to 60 shelling attacks in Ukraine's Sumy region, local officials said. Months after countering a surprise Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk region, Russian forces have repeatedly attacked villages and military positions in the region, using continuous shelling to support their ground assault. On June 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 23 percent of all Russian frontline shelling is being directed at the Sumy region. Speaking at the international economic forum in St Petersburg on June 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the Russian military was carving out a 'buffer zone' in Sumy region. 'We don't have the task of taking it, but in principle I don't rule it out,' Putin said. 'Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours,' he added. A week later, Oleksandr Syrskiy, Ukraine's top military commander said Russian offensive in Sumy region has been stopped. According to his Telegram statement released on June 26, the front line area in the region has been stabilized. 'Our units are successfully using active defense tactics and liberating Ukrainian land in the Sumy region,' Syrskiy said. He added some 50,000 Russian troops had been tied up in the area, including Russia's elite airborne forces and marine corps. Separately, Zelenskyy said Ukraine and Russia exchanged an unspecified number of prisoners on June 26, in the latest in a series of exchanges. ''Most of them had been held captive since 2022,' Zelenskyy added.
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First Post
27-06-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Ukraine's civilian casualties up 50% in Russian airstrikes in 2025: UN report
As Russia resorted to near-daily nightly missile and drone attacks, Ukraine's civilian casualties rose by 50% in Russian strikes in 2025 as Russia deliberately targeted civilian sites like schools and homes, according to the United Nations (UN). read more Fire and smoke rise in the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 6, 2025. (Photo: Reuters) Ukraine's civilian casualties from Russian missile attacks rose five times in the 2025, according to a United Nations (UN) report. In the first five months of 2025, Ukraine suffered at least 1,389 casualties, which includes 221 killed and 1,168 injured, which was a five-fold increase from casualties in the same period last year, as per a report from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). For many weeks, Russia has attacked Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles on a near-daily basis. After months of snail-like progress, Russian ground offensive has also picked up pace in recent weeks — even as Ukraine has repeatedly struck deep inside Russia and dealt significant blows. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Around 97 per cent of these Russian attacks occurred in civilian areas under Ukraine's control, the UN report said. Since the first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Russia has captured 20 per cent of Ukrainian territories. Russia captured vast swathes of four regions of Ukraine after the invasion in 2022 — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. Even as Russia does not completely control these four regions, it has formally announced their annexation and wants Ukraine to cede all these territories. Russia also captured Crimea in 2014 'High number of civilian casualties entirely foreseeable' In response to the Russian airstrikes this week, a top UN official said that airstrikes were timed such that casualties were maximised. Russian missiles killed at least 24 people and injured more than 300 on Monday and Tuesday in strikes on homes, schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure, the UN mission said. The timing of Russian airstrikes 'alone made the high number of civilian casualties entirely foreseeable', according to Danielle Bell is the Head of Mission for the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU). 'The attacks struck during the day when civilians were at work, on trains, or at school. The timing alone made the high number of civilian casualties entirely foreseeable,' said Bell. Overall, the report found that Russian attacks had caused casualties in 17 of 24 Ukrainian provinces and the capital city of Kyiv. Bell said, 'This year has been devastating for civilians across Ukraine, with significantly more deaths and injuries than during the same period in 2024. The intensification of long-range attacks with missiles and loitering munitions and frequent attacks with short-range drones along the frontline are a deadly combination for civilians.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Scoop
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
UN Rights Mission Condemns Civilian Toll In Deadly Missile Strikes On Ukraine
25 June 2025 At least 24 people were reported killed and over 300 injured – including 32 children – when ballistic missiles struck Ukraine's Dnipro and Odesa regions on Monday and Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said on Wednesday. The attacks destroyed homes, schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure, and left hundreds wounded. 'The attacks struck during the day when civilians were at work, on trains, or at school,' said Danielle Bell, head of HRMMU. 'The timing alone made the high number of civilian casualties entirely foreseeable.' On 23 June, two ballistic missiles launched by Russian forces hit Lyceum No. 1, a middle school in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Odesa region. Although the school year had ended, staff and students were present for administrative work. The strike killed three educators and injured 14 others, including two boys. The school, which served over 700 students, sustained critical damage. No military objective HRMMU, which visited the attacks sites, reported no evidence of military presence at the school, and people confirmed that no military presence had been stationed there. 'The school in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi was not a military objective,' Ms. Bell said. 'Yet it was hit by two ballistic missiles, killing educators and injuring children.' The following day, 24 June, missiles struck an industrial area of Dnipro city at around 11 AM local time. The blast shattered windows in nearby schools, hospitals and residential buildings. HRMMU confirmed that two dormitories were hit, injuring numerous residents. A nearby passenger train was also impacted – windows blown out by the shockwave – injuring more than 20 travellers, according to a UN monitor onboard. A troubling trend These strikes followed a series of other attacks in June that have resulted in significant civilian harm, including in Kyiv city on 17 and 23 June, according to the human rights mission. Civilian casualties in the first five months of 2025 were nearly 50 percent higher than during the same period last year, with increases typically seen during the summer months. 'Ballistic missiles, when used in densely populated areas, cause predictable and widespread harm to civilians, as demonstrated by these recent attacks,' Ms. Bell said. 'The rising civilian casualties reflect the severity of that risk.'
