HAUT­COMMISSARIAT AUX DROITS DE L’HOMME • OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING MISSION IN UKRAINE • Esplanadna 20, Kyiv, UKRAINEHRMMU@ohchr.org, +38 (044) 253 59 66

27 January 2022

Conflict-related civilian casualties in Ukraine 1December 2021
From 1 to 31 December 2021, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded six civilian
casualties: one killed (a woman) and five injured (all men). One man was injured by light weapons fire in territory
controlled by the self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk people’s republic’, one man was injured by an anti-personnel minein Government-controlled part of Donetsk region, one woman was killed and two men were injured as a resultof ERW handling2 in Government-controlled part of Donetsk region, and one man was injured as a result of ERW
handling in territory controlled by the self-proclaimed ‘Luhansk people’s republic’.
November 2021
From 1 to 30 November 2021, OHCHR recorded four civilian casualties (all injured): two men and two women. All ofthem were caused by active hostilities (shelling and SALW3 fire): one in territory controlled by the self-proclaimed‘Donetsk people’s republic’, one in territory controlled by the self-proclaimed ‘Luhansk people’s republic’, one
in Government-controlled part of Donetsk region, and one in Government-controlled part of Luhansk region.
October 2021
From 1 to 31 October 2021, OHCHR recorded eight civilian casualties: two killed (both men) and six injured (fourmen, one woman and one girl). All of them but one4 were caused by active hostilities (shelling, SALW fire and explosive
devices dropped from UAVs5), all in territory controlled by the self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk people’s republic’.
Total civilian casualties in 2021
The total number of civilian casualties recorded by OHCHR in 2021 has totaled 110: 25 killed (16 men, twowomen, three boys, one girl and three adults whose sex is not yet known) and 85 injured (56 men, 21 women,six boys and two girls), a 26.2 per cent decrease compared with 2020 (149: 26 killed and 123 injured), and thelowest annual civilian casualties for the entire conflict period.

1 OHCHR documents civilian casualties by consulting a broad range of sources and types of information, which are evaluated forcredibility and reliability. This update is based on information that the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU)
collected through interviews with victims and their relatives; witnesses; analysis of corroborating material confidentially shared withHRMMU; official records; open-source documents, photo and video materials; forensic records and reports; criminal investigationmaterials; court documents; public reports of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine; reports by international and national
non-governmental organisations; public reports by law enforcement and military actors; data from medical facilities and localauthorities; and other relevant and credible material. In some instances, corroboration may take weeks or months before
conclusions can be drawn. This may mean that conclusions on civilian casualties may be revised as more information becomes
available and numbers may change as new information emerges over time.
2 Victims of ERW handling manipulate with an ERW (explosive remnants of war) for a certain period of time and take additional
efforts to make it detonate (for instance, by trying to dismantle it), or were near those, who manipulated an ERW.
3 Small arms and light weapons.
4 OHCHR recorded death of a man in Government-controlled part of Donetsk region, but has not yet corroborated the type ofincident in which the man was killed.
5 Unmanned aerial vehicles.

PAGE 2

Total civilian casualties from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021, per month
60
5250
40

3835302730
222120105161413 141371051166 53 201310 118 752 2 13 2131119

74 4 454220 1 1 1

23 2 21 2 215138 98866 56
6 6 7
65 6
44 53 32 1 22 2
20 0 00 0
00 1

12 11

111070KilledInjuredTotal civilian casualties in 2020 and 2021, per type of weapon/incident
KilledInjuredTotal

Per cent

2021

KilledInjuredTotal

Per cent

Active hostilities
Mines and ERW
Other

2020

817
16259
27076
347.0
51.0
2.0

Active hostilities
Mines and ERW
Other7126374624458
840.052.7
7.3

Total

26

123

149

100.0

Total

2585

110

100.0

Civilian casualties resulting from active hostilities in 2021
From 1 January to 31 December 2021, OHCHR recorded 44 civilian casualties caused by active hostilities (shelling,SALW fire and explosive devices dropped from UAVs): seven killed (six men and one woman) and 37 injured (25men, nine women, two boys and one girl), a 37.1 per cent decrease compared with 2020 (eight killed and 62
injured).
Civilian casualties caused by active hostilities, from 27 July 2019 to 31 December 2021, per month
2018161412108642019
12 months before: 9 killed and 84 injured

12 months after: 6 killed and 11 injured

27 July2020
ceasefire14139974

300 000

40

4
1103

7

64
2024122100 00 00 0

Killed

00 0

1

20

11 1

2 2

20 02 200

100

1Injured

Civilian casualties caused by active hostilities in 2018-2021, per territory

2018
2019
2020
2021
Total
Per cent

In territory controlled by the self-proclaimed 'republics'

In Governmentcontrolled
territoryIn ‘no man's
land’

Total

128
856136310
81.4

27189862
16.3

7200
92.3

162105
70
44381
100.0

Decrease compared withprevious year, per cent

41.9
35.2
33.3
37.1

2

PAGE 3Civilian casualties resulting from mine-related incidents and ERW handling
From 1 January to 31 December 2021, civilian casualties resulting from mine-related incidents6 and ERW
handling comprised 58: 12 killed (seven men, one woman, three boys and one girl) and 46 injured (31 men, ten
women, four boys and one girl). This is a 23.7 per cent decrease compared with the same period of 2020, when
76 such casualties were recorded (17 killed and 59 injured).
In total, from 14 April 2014 to 31 December
2021, OHCHR recorded 1,242 civilian casualties
caused by mine-related incidents, ERW
handling and explosions of military depots: 366
killed (251 men, 69 women, two adults whose
sex is yet unknown, 42 boys and two girls) and
876 injured (495 men, 193 women, 39 adults
whose sex is yet unknown, 122 boys and 27girls).

Civilian casualties caused by mine-related incidents, ERW handlingand explosions of military deports, 2014-2021
300
240

250

181

200

180

123

150
100

8866
40 4050355942461717122019

2020

2021

02014

2015

2016

2017

Killed2018

InjuredTotal conflict-related civilian casualties in 2014-2021
During the entire conflict period, from 14 April
2014 to 31 December 2021, OHCHR recorded a
total of 3,106 conflict-related civilian deaths(1,852 men, 1,072 women, 102 boys, 50 girls,
and 30 adults whose sex is unknown). Taking
into account the 298 deaths on board Malaysian
Airlines flight MH17 on 17 July 2014, the total
death toll of the conflict on civilians has reached
at least 3,404. The number of injured civilians isestimated to exceed 7,000.

Total conflict-related civilian deaths, from 2014 to 2021
2500
2084
2000

1500
955

1000

500
112

117

58

27

26

25

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

0
2014

2015

Total conflict-related casualties in Ukraine in 2014-20217
OHCHR estimates the total number of conflict-related casualties in Ukraine from 14 April 2014 to 31 December
2021 to be 51,000–54,0008: 14,200-14,400 killed (at least 3,404 civilians, estimated 4,400 Ukrainian forces9, andestimated 6,500 members of armed groups10), and 37-39,000 injured (7,000–9,000 civilians, 13,800–14,200
Ukrainian forces11 and 15,800-16,200 members of armed groups12).

6 Incidents in which civilians were killed or injured by mines (antipersonnel or anti-vehicle) or explosive devices triggered in the sameway, such as booby traps, or by ERW that are inadvertently detonated by unsuspecting civilians.
7 While civilians have been the major focus of conflict-related casualty recording by OHCHR in Ukraine, OHCHR also collects reportsand data on casualties among combatants (both citizens of Ukraine and nationals of other countries) to prevent inclusion ofcombatants into civilian casualty statistics, and to estimate the total death toll of the conflict.
8 The increase in figures in the current estimate compared with those released by OHCHR earlier is mainly due to processed data on
casualties among combatants, including non-combat ones, which occurred before 2021, mostly in 2014-2018.
9 Including deaths resulting from imprudent handling of ammunition or weapons, road incidents, diseases, killings and suicides whileon service in the conflict zone.
10 Including deaths resulting from imprudent handling of ammunition or weapons, road incidents, diseases, killings and suicides
while on service in the conflict zone.
11 Including non-combat injuries and traumas while on service in the conflict zone.
12 Including non-combat injuries and traumas while on service in the conflict zone.

3