Ten days into Russia’s war on Ukraine, United Nations monitors announced Saturday that at least 351 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and another 707 injured — though the actual figures for both are likely much higher.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it believes that “the real figures are considerably higher, especially in government-controlled territory and especially in recent days, as the receipt of information from some locations where intensive hostilities have been going on was delayed and many reports were still pending corroboration.”
“This concerns, for example, the town of Volnovakha where hundreds of civilian casualties have been alleged,” the office said. “These figures are being further corroborated and are not included.”
Between 04:00 on 24 February 2022, when the Russian Federation’s military action against # Ukraine started, and 24:00 on 4 March 2022, our Ukraine Office @UNHumanRightsUA recorded 1,058 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 351 killed & 707 injured. Learn more: https://t.co/Jvv39YKWBS pic.twitter.com/dKnAemcaJ0
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) March 5, 2022
The Associated Press noted that “Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has said more than 2,000 civilians have died, though it’s impossible to verify the claim.”
OHCHR added that most confirmed civilian casualties since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion on February 24 “were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.”
The International Criminal Court earlier this week launched an investigation into claims that Russian forces have committed war crimes, including by using cluster bombs and targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The U.N. casualty figures came as Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of violating a cease-fire for evacuation routes out of the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha.
⚡️About 400 civilians evacuated from Volnovakha despite thwarted evacuation.
The number was announced by Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. The evacuation from Volnovakha was supposed to be held today, but Russian forces violated the temporary ceasefire agreement.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 5, 2022
As the AP reports:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office later said the Russians were not holding to the cease-fire and continued firing on Mariupol and surrounding areas. Russia breached the deal in Volnovakha as well, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told reporters.
Russian outlet RIA Novosti carried a Russian Defense Ministry claim that the firing came from inside both communities against Russian positions.
Shelling began in Mariupol as thousands of people gathered to leave the city and buses were departing, said Mayor Vadym Boychenko, adding that “we value the life of every inhabitant of Mariupol and we cannot risk it, so we stopped the evacuation.”
The Mariupol City Council similarly said on social media that “due to the fact that the Russian side does not adhere to the cease-fire and has continued shelling both of Mariupol itself and its environs and for security reasons, the evacuation of the civilian population has been postponed.”
https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1500074020288724992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1500074020288724992%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2F2022%2F03%2F05%2Fukraine-civilian-death-toll-likely-considerably-higher-351-confirmed-un
More than 1.3 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the Russian invasion, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency.
Anti-war protests are planned around the world for Saturday and Sunday.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy