The UN estimates that more than 8,000 civilians have died since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Turk says the data "is just the tip of the iceberg" and regrets the "devastating price" paid by civilians

MADRID, 21 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The United Nations estimated this Tuesday at more than 8,000 the number of civilians killed since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which celebrates its first anniversary this Friday, while noting that nearly 13,300 civilians have been injured as a result of the hostilities.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has detailed that to date 8,006 civilian deaths and 13,287 wounded have been confirmed, although he has warned that these data "are only the tip of the iceberg."

The figures reveal that 61.1 percent of civilian casualties are men, while 39.9 percent are women. They also show that at least 487 children have been killed and 954 injured since the start of the fighting.

Turk's office has detailed that 90.3 percent of civilian casualties were caused by explosive weapons with wide effects, including artillery shells, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and bombings, most of which were carried out against populated areas. . On the other hand, 219 civilians have died and 413 have been injured by mines and other explosive devices.

On the other hand, it has confirmed having received information about six deaths and 15 wounded in the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, while many reports on casualties are awaiting verification in the occupied regions of Ukraine, mainly in Mariupol, Lisichansk, Popasna and Severodonetsk.

The office has also indicated that it has information on 30 deaths and 130 injuries on Russian territory, although these figures have not been included in the balance because they are still waiting to be corroborated.

Thus, Turk has stressed that the figures "reveal the losses and suffering caused to the population since the beginning of the Russian armed attack on February 24 of last year." "The damage caused to civilians is unbearable. Amid electricity and water shortages during the cold winter months, some 18 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid," he stressed.

Likewise, he recalled that "around fourteen million people have been displaced from their homes" and stressed that "from the young to the elderly have been affected". "Students have seen their education halted or interrupted by attacks on educational facilities, while the elderly and people with disabilities have faced immense challenges, in some cases unable to reach shelters or having to spend prolonged periods of time in basements in conditions that affect their health," he lamented.

Turk has also denounced that there are "every day" violations of Humanitarian Law and has stressed that "it is increasingly difficult to find a way to move towards peace in the face of growing suffering and destruction."

For this reason, it has stressed the "devastating price that civilians on both sides of the front have paid and continue to pay" and has called for "intensifying and deepening" efforts towards "accountability and justice for violations of International Law ".

"It is equally crucial that victims are able to access desperately needed reparations and practical assistance, without first having to wait for the results of formal legal proceedings," he explained.

Finally, he has indicated that "this senseless war has had reverberations throughout the world", including the increase in food and fuel prices, which "has increased misery on a global scale, especially among those who were already in a situation of vulnerability.

"This war, which is a flagrant affront to the United Nations Charter and International Law, built to protect human beings throughout the world, and which has caused enormous human losses must end now," Turk concluded.