July saw highest civilian casualties in Ukraine since 2022, UN says ahead of Trump-Putin summit
At least 1,674 civilian casualties were recorded in Ukraine in July, setting a new record since the first year of Russia's full-scale invasion, U.N. human rights monitors said on Aug. 13.
The figure includes 286 civilians killed and 1,388 injured, topping a previous record in May 2022, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.
The figure underscores Russia's intensifying attacks despite U.S. efforts to broker a peace deal and Kyiv's calls for an unconditional ceasefire.
"For the second month in a row, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine hits a new three-year high," said Danielle Bell, head of the U.N. human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine.
"Only the first three months after the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine saw more killed and injured than in this past month."
Russia's use of long-range weapons like missiles and loitering munitions accounted for almost 40% of the casualties, the U.N. said in its report. Short-range drones were the second most common cause of civilian losses, amounting to 24%.
The surge in casualty figures took place mainly in Ukrainian front-line areas, a trend the monitors connected to Russia's intensified offensive operations.
Russia also carried out a number of deadly mass strikes against Kyiv and other major cities. On July 31, Russian forces launched a combined missile and drone strike on Kyiv, killing 32 people and injuring almost 180.
The strike marked the highest number of children injured in a single attack against the capital. It was also the deadliest strike against the capital of the year, and the second deadliest of the war after the December 2023 attack on Kyiv that killed 33 people.
According to the U.N., casualty figures in the first seven months of 2025 were 48% higher than during the same period last year.
The U.N. has documented close to 14,000 civilians killed and over 35,500 injured during the full-scale war, though the real figure is likely much higher as Russia prevents independent monitoring in some of the most war-affected regions.
Ukraine faces an increasingly dire situation in the war as Russia makes fresh advances in eastern Donetsk Oblast, while Kyiv's own forces suffer manpower shortages.
The summer also saw Russia ramp up its aerial strikes across Ukraine, drawing criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to impose new punishing sanctions unless Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a ceasefire deal.
While Trump announced no new measures by his own Aug. 8 deadline, he is scheduled to meet Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15 to discuss a possible settlement of the war in Ukraine. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Trump returned to office in January.
