July Was the Deadliest Month for Ukraine’s Civilians Since October of 2022, UN Human Rights Monitors Say

The high number of casualties in July continued an alarming trend of increasing civilian casualties since March 2024, HRMMU said.

“The 8 July attack pushed civilian casualty numbers to a height we have not seen in 20 months,” said Danielle Bell, the head of HRMMU. “I truly hope that the July number was an exception and that this trend of increasing civilian casualties will end.

In its monthly update on civilian harm, HRMMU said it verified that conflict-related violence killed at least 219 civilians and injured 1,018 in July. The number of civilian casualties in July were the highest since October 2022, when conflict-related violence killed 317 civilians and injured 795.

The pattern of civilian harm in July resembled previous months with explosive weapons with wide area effect causing the vast majority of civilian harm, and most harm occurring in territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine.

The single largest number of   casualties occurred on 8 July, when Russian armed forces launched high-precision missiles against targets in Kyiv City, Dnipro City, Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) and Kyiv region. In total, the 8 July attacks killed at least 43 civilians, including 5 children, and injured 147, including 7 children.

Most of the civilian casualties happened when a missile or debris from a missile intercepted by air defense struck a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district in Kyiv  (13 killed and at least 20 injured), a business center in the Solomianskyi district in Kyiv (6 killed and at least 10 injured), a medical center in the Dniprovskyi district in Kyiv (9 killed and at least 5 injured), the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv (2 killed and at least 18 injured) and the administrative buildings of a mechanical repair plant in Kryvyi Rih (10 killed, 46 injured).

The 8 July attack destroyed or damaged several healthcare facilities across the country. One missile struck a hospital complex in Kyiv city, completely destroying the building of the toxicology department of the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Hospital and significantly damaging the Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery of Ukraine. One hospital staff was among those killed and at least eight among those injured.

In-depth assessment of the impact site, witness testimonies, and videos, including footage of the missile immediately before impact indicate that the hospital complex was damaged by a direct hit from a missile and not from falling debris from an air defense interception.