Child casualties double in Ukraine
CIVILIAN casualties have surged in Ukraine during the past month after Russian forces stepped up their onslaught.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission revealed the toll included at least 57 children killed or injured – double the number for February.
Analysts verified at least 604 civilians killed or injured in Ukraine in March, a 20% rise from February.
A spokesman added: “The March increase in civilian casualties was mainly due to attacks by the Russian armed forces using missiles and loitering munitions across Ukraine and increased aerial bombardments near the front line.”
The UN Mission found that most civilian casualties – 93.5% – as well as most damage to educational and health facilities and to critical infrastructure occurred in governmentcontrolled areas.
Ukraine sustained particularly heavy attacks last month and Volodymyr Zelensky warned the country could run out of air defence missiles if Vladimir Putin’s troops keep up its intense long-range bombing campaign.
The President said last week that Russia fired more than 3,000 guided aerial bombs, 600 drones and 400 missiles at Ukraine last month.
Authorities in Kyiv claim since the start of the war in February 2022, at least 10,000 civilians have been killed with more than double this number injured. But the United States says the true civilian death figure is likely to be 40,000-plus. So far 600 children are known to have been killed by the Russian shelling.
Military casualties are now massively high on both sides with estimates of 315,000 dead or injured Russian soldiers and 383,000 Ukrainian troops. Both sides put the fatality figure substantially lower.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague is investigating widespread allegations of war crimes committed by Russia.
Moscow denies any atrocities or the targeting of civilians but a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Putin by the court for alleged crimes against Ukrainian youngsters – hundreds of thousands of whom are said to have been spirited away into Russia.