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2025 Becomes Deadliest Year for Ukrainian Civilians Since Russian Invasion, With More Than 2,000 Dead
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
In 2025, Ukraine saw the highest civilian death toll since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) on January 12.
In its monthly assessment of civilian harm, the HRMMU said conflict-related violence last year killed 2,514 civilians and wounded 12,142 others. This marked a sharp rise compared with previous years: overall civilian casualties were 31% higher than in 2024 (2,088 killed and 9,138 injured) and 70% higher than in 2023 (1,974 killed and 6,651 injured).
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The mission found that 97% of the civilian casualties recorded in 2025 occurred in areas under Ukrainian government control as a result of attacks by Russian armed forces, totaling 2,395 fatalities and 11,751 injuries.
“The 31 per cent increase in civilian casualties compared with 2024 represents a marked deterioration in the protection of civilians. Our monitoring shows that this rise was driven not only by intensified hostilities along the frontline, but also by the expanded use of long-range weapons, which exposed civilians across the country to heightened risk,” said HRMMU Head Danielle Bell.
According to the UN, nearly two-thirds of all civilian casualties in 2025 were documented in frontline regions. Older people were disproportionately affected, as many remain in frontline villages. The HRMMU reported that civilians aged 60 and over accounted for more than 45% of those killed in frontline areas—742 deaths in total—despite making up only 25% of Ukraine’s population.
The mission also noted a steep increase in casualties caused by short-range drones used near the front line. These attacks killed 577 civilians and injured 3,288 others, representing a 120% rise compared to 2024.
“The expanded use of short-range drones has rendered many areas near the frontline effectively uninhabitable,” Bell said. “As essential services shut down and infrastructure is destroyed, it has become too dangerous in some communities even to provide emergency medical care or evacuate civilians. In 2025, many people who had endured years of hostilities were ultimately compelled to leave their homes.”
According to the report, long-range weapons, including missiles and loitering munitions, were responsible for 35% of civilian casualties in Ukraine in 2025, resulting in 682 deaths and 4,443 injuries, a 65% increase in fatalities and injuries compared with 2024, when 531 civilians were killed and 2,569 wounded.
One of the deadliest incidents occurred on July 31, when Russian long-range strikes on Kyiv killed 32 civilians, including five children, and injured 170 people, among them 17 children. The HRMMU described this as the highest confirmed civilian casualty figure in the capital since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The UN mission also noted that in October 2025, Russian forces resumed large-scale, coordinated attacks on energy infrastructure nationwide, triggering emergency power outages and scheduled blackouts.
“The sharp increase in long-range attacks and the targeting of Ukraine’s national energy infrastructure mean that the consequences of the war are now felt by civilians far beyond the frontline. With temperatures now down to minus 15 degrees Celsius, disruptions to electricity, water and heating are placing civilians across the country at heightened risk,” Bell said.
Earlier, it was reported that Russian attacks in the early hours of January 13 targeted the city of Kharkiv and eight surrounding settlements in the Kharkiv region, resulting in four deaths and 10 injuries.
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-fb1e54e947b36389d3c8c9646e655f04.jpeg "Ukrainian Court Sentences Russian Soldier to 12 Years for Abducting Civilians in Chernihiv Region")
