In 2025, number of civilian casualties in Ukraine increased by 26%, - Guardian
In 2025, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine as a result of shelling and bombing increased by 26%.
This is according to data from the international organisation Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), writes Censor.NET, citing The Guardian.
According to the organisation, 2,248 civilians were killed and 12,493 were injured last year due to the use of explosive weapons in Ukraine. The average number of victims in a single incident was 4.8 people, which is 33% more than in 2024.
The most tragic episode was the shelling of Dnipro on 24 June: Russian missiles hit a passenger train, residential buildings and schools. Twenty-one people were killed and another 314 were injured.
AOAV Executive Director Iain Overton said that these figures indicate "Ukraine fits a wider collapse of restraint that is now visible across multiple wars" and respect for the distinction of proportionality in war "has broken". According to him, the deliberate targeting of civilians or civilian infrastructure is a war crime.
Globally, civilian casualties in 2025 fell by 26% compared to the record high of 2024, to 45,358 deaths and injuries worldwide. The highest number of casualties from explosive weapons was recorded in Israel (35% of all cases) and Ukraine (32%). Conflicts in Sudan and Myanmar remained less extensive but deadly.
"When impunity becomes normalised, war crimes stop being shocking exceptions and begin to resemble a method of warfare," Overton stressed.
The AOAV also noted that due to the limited availability of English-language sources, the actual number of victims worldwide, including in Ukraine, may be significantly higher.
