Ukraine: civilian casualty update 5 June 2023

Date: 5 June 2023¹

Civilian casualties from 1 to 31 May 2023

From 1 to 31 May 2023, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 858 civilian casualties in Ukraine:

• 174 killed (97 men, 56 women, 6 boys, 1 girl, as well as 14 adults whose sex is not yet known), and
• 684 injured (246 men, 171 women, 23 boys, 14 girls, as well as 230 adults whose sex is not yet known).

This included:

• 145 killed (87 men, 39 women, 4 boys, 1 girl, as well as 14 adults whose sex is not yet known) and 576 injured (201 men, 118 women, 18 boys, 9 girls, as well as 230 adults whose sex is not yet known) in 168 settlements in territory controlled by the Government when casualties occurred (84 percent of the total), and
• 29 killed (10 men, 17 women, and 2 boys) and 108 injured (45 men, 53 women, 5 boys, and 5 girls) in 17 settlements in territory occupied by the Russian Federation when casualties occurred (16 percent of the total).

Per type of weapon/incident:

• Explosive weapons with wide area effects: 161 killed and 642 injured (94 per cent):
  • 676 casualties (133 killed and 543 injured) in territory controlled by the Government when casualties occurred, and
  • 127 casualties (28 killed and 99 injured) in territory occupied by the Russian Federation when casualties occurred.
• Mines and explosive remnants of war: 13 killed and 42 injured (6 per cent):
  • 45 casualties (12 killed and 33 injured) in territory controlled by the Government when casualties occurred, and
  • 10 casualties (1 killed and 9 injured) in territory occupied by the Russian Federation when casualties occurred.

Total civilian casualties

From 24 February 2022, which marked the start of the large-scale armed attack by the Russian Federation, to 4 June 2023, OHCHR recorded 24,425 civilian casualties in the country: 8,983 killed and 15,442 injured. This included:

• 19,682 casualties (6,979 killed and 12,703 injured) in territory controlled by the Government when casualties occurred:
  • In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 9,877 casualties (4,081 killed and 5,796 injured); and
  • In other regions^[2]: 9,805 casualties (2,898 killed and 6,907 injured).
• 4,743 casualties (2,004 killed and 2,739 injured) in territory occupied by the Russian Federation when casualties occurred:
  • In Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 3,202 casualties (716 killed and 2,486 injured); and
  • In other regions^[3]: 1,541 casualties (1,288 killed and 253 injured).

OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration. This concerns, for example, Mariupol (Donetsk region), Lysychansk, Popasna, and Sievierodonetsk (Luhansk region), where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine

Since 2014, OHCHR has been documenting civilian casualties in Ukraine. Reports are based on information that the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) collected through interviews with victims and their relatives; witnesses; analysis of corroborating material confidentially shared with HRMMU; official records; open-source documents, photo and video materials; forensic records and reports; criminal investigation materials; court documents; reports by international and national non-governmental organisations; public reports by law enforcement and military actors; data from medical facilities and local authorities. All sources and information are assessed for their relevance and credibility and cross-checked against other information. In some instances, corroboration may take time. This may mean that conclusions on civilian casualties may be revised as more information becomes available and numbers may change as new information emerges over time. Statistics presented in the current update are based on individual civilian casualty records where the “reasonable grounds to believe” standard of proof was met, namely where, based on a body of verified information, an ordinarily prudent observer would have reasonable grounds to believe that the casualty took place as described.

ENDS

Ukrainian and Russian language versions of this update as they become available, please visit this page.

[1] An increase in figures in this update compared with the previous update (as of 21 May 2023) should not be attributed to civilian casualties that occurred from 22 May to 4 June only, as during these days OHCHR also corroborated casualties that occurred on previous days. Similarly, not all civilian casualties that were reported from 22 May to 4 June have been included into the above figures. Some of them are still pending corroboration and if confirmed, will be reported on in future updates.

[2] The city of Kyiv, and Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn, and Zhytomyr regions.

[3] Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia regions.