The year 2025 was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said today in its monthly update on civilian harm.
HRMMU verified that conflict-related violence in Ukraine in 2025 killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142. The total number of killed and injured civilians in 2025 was 31 per cent higher than in 2024 (2,088 killed; 9,138 injured) and 70 per cent higher than in 2023 (1,974 killed; 6,651 injured).
The vast majority of casualties verified by HRMMU in 2025 occurred in government-controlled territory from attacks launched by Russian armed forces (97 per cent; 2,395 killed and 11,751 injured).
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In October 2025, Russian armed forces resumed large-scale, coordinated strikes on energy facilities nationwide, causing emergency power outages and scheduled power cuts across the country … [The resulting power] outages, which lasted for several days, severely affected residents, particularly people in vulnerable situations, by disrupting access to electricity, water and heating, as well as limiting the ability to preserve and prepare food and to use elevators in multi-storey buildings.
Attacks on energy infrastructure persisted and caused 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,” [head of HRMMU Danielle] Bell said. “With temperatures now down to minus 15 degrees Celsius, disruptions to electricity, water and heating are placing civilians across the country at heightened risk.”
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