The United Nations Human Rights Office today warned of an increase in civilian casualties in the current Russian offensive on Ukraine, and said it had received information of at least 25 civilian deaths and 102 wounded by bombing, although it acknowledged that the real figure is surely older.
Most of the victims (23 dead and 91 injured) were reported in areas controlled by the Ukrainian government in the Donetsk, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kharkov, Kherson and Lugansk regions, the spokeswoman explained.
"Civilians are terrified of a possible escalation of the conflict: Many of them are trying to leave their homes and take refuge as much as possible"said the office’s spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, at a press conference.
The Ukrainian government, for its part, raises the number of Ukrainians killed in the invasion to at least 137, according to President Volodimir Zelenski.
The source stressed that the human rights observation mission in Ukraine that was already on the ground continues to work, although it has difficulties confirming the information they receive, due to factors such as the wave of false news that accompanies the current conflict.
"There is an information war and we are receiving a lot of information that, after being analyzed, proves to be completely false, so we are being extremely cautious when giving figures on civilian casualties"Shamdasani said.
The spokeswoman also pointed out that there have been reports of journalists who are being prevented from working in the conflict zone.
"We must respect the protection of journalists and news professionals, especially in these circumstances, because it is crucial to receive objective information about the situation on the ground"Shamdasani stressed.
