Published on: 2026-05-06
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU) reported on Wednesday a sharp increase in civilian casualties as a result of a series of massive attacks across Ukraine. According to the mission’s data, at least 70 people have died since May 1, and more than 500 have been wounded.
Only on May 5, as a result of strikes by Russian armed forces, according to reports, 28 people were killed and 194 were wounded. The mission has already confirmed a significant portion of these cases and continues to verify information.
“The scale and geography of the attacks cause serious concern”
MHPG Head Daniel Bell emphasized that the intensity and number of strikes in recent days is unprecedented: “Since May 1, in 14 regions of Ukraine, according to reports, more than 570 civilians have been killed or wounded.”
From May 1 to 5, strikes were carried out on large cities and industrial areas. Among the most affected was Zaporizhzhia, where on May 5 air bombs hit an industrial zone: according to reports, at least 12 people died, 46 were wounded. On the same day, strikes on the central districts of Kramatorsk resulted in the death of at least six people, 13 were injured.
A series of missile and drone attacks also affected the Ternopil, Rivne, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Poltava, and Odessa regions.
Repeated strikes on rescuers
In some cases, strikes were repeatedly inflicted on already damaged targets, which led to the death of emergency service personnel.
In the Poltava region, two rescuers died when a second strike hit a gas production facility that was previously attacked during the night of May 4 to 5. In Kherson on May 3, a medical brigade that arrived at the site of the previous attack came under drone fire.
Daytime attacks have increased the number of casualties
Many strikes on densely populated areas occurred during daylight hours, which, according to the HRW assessment, contributed to the increase in the number of dead and wounded.
“People were engaged in ordinary activities – going to work, shopping, walking, or helping those affected,” Bel noted. “Under such circumstances, the harm to the civilian population was foreseeable.”
Victims in the territory under the control of the Russian Federation
According to reports, from May 1 to 5, in the territory controlled by the Russian Federation, 10 people died. Five of them were killed as a result of a drone strike on May 5 in Dzhankoy, Crimea. In Cheboksary on May 5, according to reports, at least two people died, and 35 were wounded.
The mission emphasized that the parties to the conflict are obliged to observe international humanitarian law and to take all possible measures to minimize casualties among the civilian population – from the choice of the timing of attacks to the type of weapons used.
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