Ten days into Russia’s war on Ukraine, United Nations monitors announced Saturday that at least 351 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and another 707 injured — though the actual figures for both are likely much higher.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it believes that “the real figures are considerably higher, especially in government-controlled territory and especially in recent days, as the receipt of information from some locations where intensive hostilities have been going on was delayed and many reports were still pending corroboration.”
“This concerns, for example, the town of Volnovakha where hundreds of civilian casualties have been alleged,” the office said. “These figures are being further corroborated and are not included.”
Between 04:00 on 24 February 2022, when the Russian Federation’s military action against # Ukraine started, and 24:00 on 4 March 2022, our Ukraine Office @UNHumanRightsUA recorded 1,058 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 351 killed & 707 injured. Find out more: https://t.co/Jvv39YKWBS pic.twitter.com/dKnAemcaJ0
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) March 5, 2022
The Associated PressNoted that “Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has said more than 2,000 civilians have died, though it’s impossible to verify the claim.”
OHCHR added that most confirmed civilian casualties since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion on February 24 “were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.”
This week, the International Criminal Court was established launchedInvestigating claims that Russian forces have committed war crime, including using cluster bombstargeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
According to the U.N., the U.S. casualty numbers were released after Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces from violating a ceasefire for evacuation routes out and about the cities of Mariupol (and Volnovakha).
⚡️Despite being thwarted, around 400 civilians were evacuated from Volnovakha.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the Governor of Donetsk Oblast, announced the number. The evacuation of Volnovakha was supposed be held today, however, Russian forces violated the temporary ceasefire.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 5, 2022
As the AP reports:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office later said the Russians were not holding to the cease-fire and continued firing on Mariupol and surrounding areas. According to Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister, Russia also violated the Volnovakha agreement.
Russian outlet RIA NovostiRussian Defense Ministry claimed that the firing occurred from within both communities, and was directed at Russian positions.
Mariupol was the first place where shelling began. There were thousands of people leaving the city, and buses were departing. said Mayor Vadym Boychenko, adding that “we value the life of every inhabitant of Mariupol and we cannot risk it, so we stopped the evacuation.”
Similar measures were taken by the Mariupol City Council said on social media that “due to the fact that the Russian side does not adhere to the cease-fire and has continued shelling both of Mariupol itself and its environs and for security reasons, the evacuation of the civilian population has been postponed.”
The agonizing scenes of civilians trying and failing to evacuate their homes in the morning. @clarissawardNotes that “they’re leaving them with knowledge that they might never be able to return to them.” pic.twitter.com/5Ur4CS60pl
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) March 5, 2022
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 1.3million Ukrainians have fled their country. according toThe U.N. The U.N. Refugee Agency.
Protests against war are prohibited plannedAll over the world for Saturday and Sun.
