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UN civilian death toll in Ukraine passes 10,000
Summary
A look back at a UN human rights report on civilian casualties, and a strike in occupied Donetsk Oblast days earlier.
How many civilians had died in Ukraine by 21 November 2023? The United Nations Human Rights Office said more than 10,000 civilians had been killed since the Russian invasion in February 2022. It added that it expected the actual death toll to be "significantly higher".
The figure came as fighting continued in the east. On 19 November 2023, the Ukrainian military shelled Russian-occupied Kalmiuske Raion in Donetsk Oblast, as reported at the time. The strike hit a dance hall in Kumachove during a performance, killing about 20 Russian troops and the Russian actress Polina Menshikh.
The two reports offered different views of the war on the same date: a cumulative count of civilian deaths from the UN, and a recent strike on a venue in occupied territory.
