UN Human Rights Mission: 2025 deadliest year for civilians in Ukraine since 2022
In 2025, Ukraine recorded the largest number of civilian casualties since 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has said.
As reported by the HRMMU press service, in its monthly report on the harm caused to civilians, the Mission confirmed that war-related violence in Ukraine in 2025 resulted in the deaths of 2,514 civilians and the injury of 12,142 people. The total number of civilian deaths and injuries in 2025 was 31% higher than in 2024 (2,088 deaths; 9,138 injuries), and 70% higher than in 2023 (1,974 deaths; 6,651 injuries).
The vast majority of civilian casualties confirmed by the HRMMU in 2025 occurred in Ukrainian government-controlled territory as a result of attacks by Russian armed forces (97%; 2,395 deaths 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," Head of HRMMU Danielle Bell said.
The UN notes that increased attempts by Russian armed forces to seize territory in 2025 led to civilian deaths and injuries, the destruction of critical infrastructure, the disruption of basic services and new waves of population displacement in front-line areas. Some 63% (9,253) of all casualties in 2025 occurred in frontline areas.
Older people, who make up a significant proportion of those remaining in front-line villages, have been particularly affected. The HRMMU documented that people aged 60 and over accounted for over 45% (742 deaths) of civilians killed in frontline areas in 2025, despite representing only 25% of Ukraine's total population.
The use of short-range drones near the frontline has caused significant civilian casualties: 577 people were killed and 3,288 were injured, a 120% increase compared to 2024 (226 deaths; 1,528 injured). For example, on 25 December, a short-range drone hit a vehicle carrying volunteers carrying out evacuations in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, killing one aid worker and injuring two others. On December 6, a short-range drone killed a woman and injured her two adult children in occupied Horlivka, Donetsk region.
"The expanded use of short-range drones has rendered many areas near the frontline effectively uninhabitable," Bell said.
According to the mission, long-range weapons (missiles and cluster munitions) caused 35% of civilian casualties in Ukraine in 2025 (682 deaths; 4,443 injured), a 65% increase in deaths and injuries compared to 2024 (531 deaths; 2,569 injured).
In the deadliest attack of 2025, long-range weapons used by Russia hit Ternopil in the west of the country on November 19, killing at least 38 civilians, including eight children. On July 31, long-range strikes by Russia in Kyiv also killed 32 civilians, including five children, and injured 170 others, including 17 children.
"This is the highest verified number of civilian casualties in the capital since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine," the mission said in the report.
In October 2025, Russian forces resumed large-scale coordinated strikes on energy facilities across the country, causing emergency power outages and the introduction of blackout schedules.
The resumption of attacks on energy infrastructure across the country has coincided with ongoing attacks in the regions. Odesa region was among the hardest-hit regions in December, suffering repeated strikes that led to prolonged power outages in several cities. These outages lasted for several days and seriously affected local residents, especially those in difficult living conditions, disrupting access to electricity, water and heating, as well as limiting the ability to store and cook food and use elevators in high-rise buildings.
Attacks on energy infrastructure continued, causing prolonged power outages as temperatures dropped in January 2026.
"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.