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January 17 (United Press International) — More than 7,000 civilians have died in fighting in Ukraine as the conflict provoked by Russia approaches its first anniversary, the UN human rights office said.
The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said the bloody war in Ukraine began on Feb. 24 when Russia invaded its neighbor, killing 18,358 civilians, with 7,031 killed and 11,327 wounded. a statement on Monday.
Of the total civilian deaths, 2,472 were males, 1,764 were females, and nearly 2,000 were labeled as adults of unknown sex. Minors were responsible for more than 400 deaths, including 221 boys, 177 girls and 35 children, the office said.
“The majority of documented civilian casualties are the result of shelling from the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects, including heavy artillery, multiple rocket system missiles, and air strikes,” OHCHR said.
The figures given by the OHCHR were as far as it was able to count, and officials said they believed the actual civilian figure was “much higher” because of delays in retrieving information from areas of intense fighting while other reports awaited confirmation.
It said information had been affected in areas including Mariupol, Izium and other areas where there were reported to be high numbers of civilian casualties.
The vast majority of deaths occurred in the Kyiv-controlled part of the country, with only 495 civilians killed on Ukrainian territory under the command of Russian armed forces, the office added.
So far this year, 104 civilians have been killed and 284 others injured in Ukraine, adding that 97 percent of the casualties were caused by explosive weapons. The remaining 3 percent was caused by landmines and explosive remnants of war, it said.
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