415 children among 6.5k civilians dead in Ukraine so far, says UN human rights body

Data shows most casualties were a result of explosive weapons with wide-area effects such as shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes.

Rescuers work at a site of a residential building destroyed by a Russian missile strike in the town of Vilniansk, Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine on 17 November 2022 | Reuters

New Delhi: At least 6,595 civilians have been killed so far in the Russia-Ukraine conflict that began on 24 February, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has said.

Of the dead, 415 were children, 2,575 men and 1,767 women. The gender of 1,838 adults were yet to be identified while over 10,000 civilians have been injured as of 20 November, the report said.

The data could be “considerably higher”, the UN rights body cautioned, due to unverified or delayed information in areas where the conflict has intensified, including in cities such as Mariupol, Izium, Lysychansk, Popasna and Severodonetsk..

Many of the civilian casualties occurred in Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas – a Russia-backed separatist region that has seen the most intense fighting in recent months.

The OHCHR report said 3,939 civilians were killed and 5,338 others injured in Donetsk and Luhansk, including 449 in completely Russian-controlled territory.

The highest death toll was reported in March alone – 3,326 killed, and 2,410 injured.

The report said most casualties were a result of “explosive weapons with wide-area effects including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes.