UN OHCHR estimates at least 1,611 civilians killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine

As many as 1,611 civilians have been killed, and 2,227 others have been injured since Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the UN has said on Thursday. "Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes," the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement. 

The war casualty is feared to be higher, as reports are still pending corroboration, the OHCHR has estimated. The case applies to regions witnessing heavy shelling such as Mariupol and Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Izium in the Kharkiv region, and Popasna in the Luhansk region, Borodianka in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.

"OHCHR believes that the actual figures are much higher as information is delayed from some areas of intense fighting and many reports are still awaiting confirmation," the statement read.

104 children among the war casualties

An estimated 409 men, 240 women, 43 boys, and 25 girls have been registered as war casualties. Separately 831 adults’ sex has not been confirmed to date. Of the total 2,227 injured, there were 45 girls and 104 children, depicting the harrowing war crimes within the assaulted territory. 

"The majority of civilian deaths or injuries were caused by the use of explosive devices with a wide area of effect, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as rocket and airstrikes," the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said. 

The intense hostilities between the two warring nations have displaced nearly 4.3 million into the neighbouring European countries. Poland has admitted more than 2.5 million Ukrainians that fled the Russian troops’ assault on the civilian infrastructure. More than 404,000 Ukrainians have been taken in by Hungary, 401,000 by Moldova,  305,000 by Slovakia, and  663,000 by Romania. Overall an estimated  7.1 million Ukrainians have also been internally in course of the war. 

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet also expressed concerns about the civilians' dead bodies strewn across streets and in improvised mass graves in the town of Bucha in Ukraine. "Reports emerging from this and other areas raise serious and disturbing questions about possible war crimes as well as grave breaches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of international human rights law," Bachelet said. She also called for Ukraine's Army to exhume and identify the civilians so that victims’ families can be informed instead of burying the bodies in a trench. She also called for an international investigation to establish "the truth" as to what happened in Bucha.