UN confirms over 30,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine as result of Russian aggression

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) reported about it in its update.

"Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine, which is about to enter its third year with no end in sight, continues to cause serious and widespread human rights violations, destroying lives and livelihoods," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

The Monitoring Mission emphasizes that the actual number of civilian casualties is much higher, as many of them have not yet been confirmed.

"The long-term impact of this war in Ukraine will be felt for generations," Türk said.

Over the past two years, the UN Human Rights Office has documented widespread cases of torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary detention of civilians by the Russian military. Cases of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, and suppression of the right to freedom of speech and assembly have also been documented in the occupied territory.

"In addition, interviews with over 550 former Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees by HRMMU have indicated the commission of serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by Russian armed forces, including summary execution and widespread torture," the report says.

Meanwhile, the UN Migration Agency said on February 22 that more than 14.6 million people, or 40% of Ukraine's population, are dependent on some form of humanitarian assistance this year, and millions of Ukrainian refugees abroad also need help.

The Geneva-based International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that there are currently 2.2 million refugees in Ukraine's neighboring countries, and approximately 6.5 million worldwide.

Nearly 3.7 million people have been displaced within Ukraine, with families still separated and children left homeless, IOM said in a statement, which also called on the international community to step up its efforts to help Ukrainian civilians affected by the war.