The number of civilian casualties in Ukraine in May was the highest in four years, UN monitors said

UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (YOUR HR) has verified that at least 274 civilians were killed and 1,763 injured last month – a 93 percent increase compared to May 2025 and an increase of 23 percent compared to April 2026.

“With more than 2,000 civilian casualties, May saw more civilian casualties than any other month since April 2022,” said mission chief, Danielle Bell.

Attacks in urban areas

human rights investigators said Russia’s use of powerful weapons in urban areas is the main cause of the high death toll.

Attacks with long-range weapons – missiles and drones – accounted for 45 percent of all casualties, most of which occurred in city centers far from the front lines.

For example, an aerial bomb attack on an industrial area in the city of Zaporizhzhia on May 5 killed 12 civilians and injured 42 people. On May 14, a missile hit an apartment building in the capital, Kyiv, killing 24 civilians while at least seven others were injured.

“The civilian losses we document are not limited to communities near the front lines. In cities across Ukraine, repeated attacks with missiles and aerial bombs killed and injured civilians far from areas of active ground fightingsaid Ms. Bell.

‘The explosion threw me over the fence’

Men made up the majority of the overall casualties, but women and children were not spared, including an elderly woman whose leg had to be amputated following a missile attack in the Chernihiv region on May 19.

“The explosion threw me over the fence,” he said. “I saw smoke and felt severe pain in my right leg. When I looked down, I saw that my leg was almost completely torn off.”

Investigators noted that in previous years, the number of victims increased steadily during the spring and summer. The numbers in 2026 so far follow the same pattern, but at a much higher level than in previous years.

Casualties in Russian occupied territories

Although most of the casualties occurred in areas under the control of the Government of Ukraine – namely in 20 regions and the city of Kyiv – the HRMMU also verified that several civilians were killed and injured in the Russian occupied territories.

In one case, 21 civilians were killed and others injured when one or more weapons hit an educational complex in Starobilsk, occupied Luhansk region, on the night of May 21-22.

Dangers from short-range drones

Attacks with short-range drones are the main cause of civilian casualties near the front linesat least 64 people were killed and 539 people were injured in May.

This is the highest monthly number of civilian casualties caused by these weapons since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Investigators cited the example of the city of Kherson, where 14 civilians were killed and 221 injured. Short-range drone strikes caused six deaths and 132 injuries.

Other civilian casualties near the front lines resulted from aerial bombardment, artillery shelling and Multiple Launch System (MLRS) attacks, as well as incidents involving explosive remnants of war and mines.

HRMMU noted that in addition to the verified number of civilian casualties in Ukraine, including in Russian-occupied territories, Russian authorities have reported that 47 civilians were killed and 298 injured in May on Russian territory.

The mission said it systematically collects and analyzes publicly available information on civilian casualties in Russia, but cannot regularly verify the figures due to limited independent sources of information.