UN: June was deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since 2022

The United Nations said that civilian casualties in the war in Ukraine reached their highest monthly level in June, with at least 265 people killed and 1,816 injured, as it called for renewed efforts to end the conflict through negotiations.

Addressing the UN Security Council, Rosemary DiCarlo, UN under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, said recent Russian aerial attacks had intensified the humanitarian toll.

"In the past week alone, three massive waves of Russian aerial strikes targeted Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, further raising the alarming civilian death toll and widening the destruction," DiCarlo said.

She said the strikes followed a clear pattern, as "they targeted urban centres with large civilian populations and destroyed or severely damaged residential buildings, with devastating consequences for the people living there," adding, "We condemn these attacks in the strongest terms."

DiCarlo urged "meaningful dialogue and negotiations" to bring an end to the war, now in its fourth year.

Citing the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), she said "civilian casualties in Ukraine, killed and injured, were higher in May than in any other month since the beginning of the conflict."

"Preliminary figures for June indicate an even higher toll, with at least 265 people killed and 1,816 injured. This concerning trend is seemingly continuing into July," she said, citing three massive ⁠waves of Russian aerial strikes on ‌Kyiv and other Ukrainian ‌cities this past week alone, many targeting urban centers ‌with large civilian populations.

“Any attacks against ‌civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur, are a clear violation of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately,” she said.

DiCarlo said the number of civilians killed and injured in Ukraine in May had been the highest since April 2022, but OHCHR data pointed to an even higher toll in June, with the trend potentially continuing into July.

A UN spokesperson said final casualty figures for June would be released later this month.

According to DiCarlo, OHCHR has verified that at least 16,402 civilians, including 802 children, have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war, while 48,428 people, including 2,948 children, have been injured. She noted that the actual toll was likely higher.

She also said civilians living in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories and inside Russia had continued to suffer casualties.

Russian authorities have reported that 250 civilians were killed and 1,596 were injured inside Russia during the first six months of 2026, but DiCarlo said the United Nations was not in a position to verify those figures.

By Aghakazim Guliyev