In May, at least 274 civilians were killed and 1,763 injured in Ukraine.
These figures were released by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).
“With more than 2,000 civilian casualties, the month of May saw more civilian casualties than any other month since April 2022,” said Danielle Bell.
“In previous years, the number of casualties steadily increased from month to month during spring and summer. Casualty figures so far in 2026 have followed the same pattern, but at a significantly higher level than in previous years,” the report states.
According to the HRMMU, the primary reason for the high number of casualties in May was Russia’s use of powerful weapons in urban areas. Missile and aerial bomb attacks repeatedly resulted in dozens of civilian deaths and injuries.
For example, on May 5, an aerial bomb attack on an industrial zone in Zaporizhzhia killed 12 civilians and injured 42 others. On May 14, a missile strike on an apartment building in Kyiv killed 24 civilians and injured at least seven.
“The civilian harm we documented was not limited to communities near the frontline. In cities across Ukraine, repeated attacks with missiles and aerial bombs killed and injured civilians far from areas of active ground combat,” Bell added.
Near the front line, the main cause of civilian casualties was attacks by short-range drones.
According to the report, at least 64 civilians were killed and 539 injured by such drones in May, the highest monthly toll from this type of weapon since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
In the city of Kherson alone, 14 civilians were killed and 221 injured. Of these, six deaths and 132 injuries were caused by short-range drone attacks.
