Russian strikes killed at least 265 civilians and injured 1,816 more in Ukraine in June 2026, the highest combined civilian casualty count since the first months of the full-scale invasion, the United Nations said on July 9, 2026.
Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN’s under-secretary-general for political affairs, presented the figures in a briefing to the UN Security Council. She said casualties in May had already been the highest since April 2022, and that data from the UN human rights office (OHCHR) points to an even higher toll in June. Final figures for the month are expected in late July.
“This concerning trend is seemingly continuing into July”
DiCarlo warned that the violence is not easing. She pointed to three massive waves of Russian air strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in the previous week alone, many of them hitting urban areas with large civilian populations. “This concerning trend is seemingly continuing into July,” she said.
She stressed that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, “wherever they occur, are a clear violation” of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately.
More than 16,000 civilians killed since 2022
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, OHCHR has verified the deaths of at least 16,402 civilians in Ukraine, including 802 children, and 48,428 people injured, including 2,948 children. DiCarlo said the true numbers are likely higher, since the UN can only count cases it is able to verify.
She noted that civilians are also being killed in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine and inside Russia. Russian authorities have reported 250 civilians killed and 1,596 injured on Russian territory in the first half of 2026, figures the UN said it could not verify.
Deadly blast near Kyiv
The briefing came days after one of the deadliest single incidents near the capital this summer. On July 6, a Russian strike hit an ammunition warehouse in Vyshneve, on Kyiv’s western outskirts, setting off huge secondary explosions. Ukrainian officials said 10 people were killed and hundreds of homes were damaged.
The warehouse belonged to state arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the situation “absolutely appalling,” said a criminal case had been opened, and promised that officials responsible would be held to account, with some dismissed. Local residents have accused authorities of negligence and of failing to keep them informed.
The rising toll adds to pressure on Ukraine’s stretched air defenses as Russia increases the scale of its drone and missile attacks on cities across the country.
Sources
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