At least 15,000 civilian casualties documented in Ukraine in 2026, UN report finds

The UN Human Rights Office found that an average of more than 400 civilians were killed or injured every week in Ukraine during the first eight months of 2026, a 55% increase from the same period in 2025, High Commissioner Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Oct. 2.

Turk’s office documented 15,280 civilians killed or injured during the first eight months of the year, as Russia has intensified attacks on civilian infrastructure in recent months. On the frontlines, the office found that nearly 2,500 civilians were killed or injured by Russian aerial glide bombs in the span of eight months, which is 62% more than last year.

"The war in Ukraine is a human rights catastrophe that is growing and intensifying by the week, causing unfathomable pain to civilians, and threatening an even greater disaster across the entire region," Türk said.

Russian strikes on schools, medical centers, apartment buildings, railways and shops are leading to a growing number of civilian casualties, as people across Ukraine live in "constant dread," the UN office said in a summary of his remarks.

His office also outlined how a "sharp increase" of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure and commercial properties like supermarkets and food companies will continue to cause pain to civilians, who are forced to grapple with temporary shortages of dairy and food items as the winter months approach.

In his Geneva remarks, Turk urged "states with influence" over Russia to push for peace now, before the “tragedy becomes even worse.” He also criticized Russia’s leadership, who he said had created a militarized economy "that puts death and destruction ahead of healthcare and education."

In a response to the UN office’s findings, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha echoed Turk’s call for accountability, saying that the High Commissioner’s call to states with influence over Russia "must be acted upon."

"While Russia cannot achieve any of its goals on the frontline, it is killing and injuring more Ukrainian civilians," Sybiha said. "The principles of the UN Charter cannot survive as words alone while a country that illegally occupies the seat of a permanent member of the Security Council violates them day after day."

The UN office had also found “shocking” levels of sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war, he said. Turk accused the Russian Federation of using such “abhorrent acts to torture, intimidate and coerce individuals and communities.”

According to the report, out of the 1,004 verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence between February 2022 and July 2026 against civilians and prisoners of war (POWs), 89% were attributed to Russian forces. 11% of total verified cases were attributed to Ukrainian forces, with threats of sexual violence comprising almost half of these violations.

A summary of the report’s findings outlined that while the Ukrainian government has taken "concrete steps to prevent and address such violations," Russia has failed to do the same.

"This is just one terrible manifestation of the cruelty that has come to define this war,” Turk said, adding that “alongside peace, there must be accountability."

The High Commissioner elaborated that his office was also concerned about human rights violations against foreign nationals recruited by Russia to join the war effort. His office interviewed prisoners of war from 36 countries held by Ukraine, many of whom said they had been deceived into joining Russian forces.