The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) reported that 28 individuals were killed and 194 injured on Tuesday alone due to Russian attacks.
Danielle Bell, head of HRMMU, expressed grave concern, stating, “What is particularly alarming is both the scale of civilian casualties and the breadth of the area affected in just a few days.”
Multiple Cities Targeted
Attacks struck cities and towns across Ukraine, including Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk, and regions in western Ukraine.
In Zaporizhzhia, airstrikes on an industrial area on Tuesday reportedly resulted in at least 12 deaths and 46 injuries. Concurrently, attacks on central areas of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region claimed at least six lives and injured 13 people.
The HRMMU noted that many of the attacks occurred during daylight hours in densely populated urban areas, contributing to the high number of civilian casualties.
“Most of the civilians killed and injured were engaged in ordinary civilian activities – commuting to work, working, shopping, walking, or responding to previous attacks,” Bell said. “Civilian harm in these circumstances is foreseeable.”
First Responders Also at Risk
Emergency workers and first responders were among those killed and injured.
In the Poltava region, two emergency workers died during a second attack on a previously damaged gas facility on the night of May 4-5. In Kherson, health personnel assisting those affected by an earlier strike were reportedly targeted by a short-range drone.
The HRMMU reiterated that under international humanitarian law, every combatant is obligated to take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian casualties, considering the timing of attacks and the types of weapons used.
Humanitarian Efforts Persist
Despite security concerns, humanitarian convoys have continued to reach hard-hit communities near the front lines.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that aid convoys delivered medicine, hygiene supplies, solar lamps, and construction materials to residents in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions over the past two days.
So far this year, the UN and its partners have organized 20 humanitarian convoys, reaching approximately 22,000 extremely vulnerable individuals along the front line.
