UN monitors verify 328 civilians killed in Ukraine in September, 85 per cent more than a year earlier

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said on Saturday, October 17, that it had verified at least 328 civilians killed and 2,105 injured in the country in September. The mission said that was 85 per cent more than in September 2025. It described the toll as the result of intensified Russian attacks.

The mission recorded casualties across 22 regions and the city of Kyiv. In Kyiv, civilians were killed or injured on 22 of the month’s 30 days, which the mission said was more often than in any month since the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion. Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told the Secretary-General’s daily press briefing that, according to the mission, long-range missiles and drones accounted for more than half of the casualties. The mission said the trend continued into October. It reported that a Russian cruise missile and drone attack on the night of 6 to 7 October killed 22 civilians and injured 45 in Pryluky, in Chernihiv region. Danielle Bell, head of the mission, said: “The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years.”

The week’s other reports gave the same picture from different agencies. On Wednesday, October 14, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) said Russian attacks on Kharkiv and Kyiv had killed and injured civilians and damaged homes. OCHA reported one civilian killed and 11 injured across Kyiv. The figures for Kharkiv came from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, not from OCHA. He said four people were killed and 41 injured in the city in a single evening.

On Friday, October 16, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Russian attacks had destroyed more than $1.5 million worth of medicines and supplies in four strikes since July on warehouses used by the UN. WHO said three of the four warehouses were destroyed. It said it had verified more than 3,300 attacks on health care in Ukraine since February 2022, with 247 people killed. The UN is itself a party here, because the warehouses were used by the UN and the UN is reporting damage to its own operations.

The mission said Russian armed forces had resumed systematic attacks on energy infrastructure. Strikes on 13 and 14 October hit multiple energy facilities, including Kyiv’s three main power stations. Ukrainian authorities said this temporarily left 600,000 people in the capital without electricity. The mission added that Ukrainian armed forces also targeted electricity and heating infrastructure in occupied territory and in the Russian Federation. Ms. Bell said: “Systematically attacking electricity and heating infrastructure as winter approaches is bound to inflict significant suffering on the civilian population.”

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned that returnees may have to flee again. It said that during the last cold season only 32 per cent of households could heat their homes adequately. It said less than seven per cent of its crisis response plan for Ukraine this year has been funded.

The reports leave several questions open. Mr. Zelenskyy said the US President announced an energy ceasefire two days before the Kharkiv and Kyiv attacks, and said Russia kept attacking energy facilities. UN News could not verify either side’s claims about it. The reports carry no Russian account of the strikes. They do not say where the four WHO warehouses are or how WHO verifies attacks. Mr. Haq said the UN is not able to provide the same monitoring resources in Russian-held areas, given the lack of access. None of the reports describes any action by the Security Council.