UN reports Ukraine civilian casualties in 2025 already exceed 2024 total

United Nations officials have reported that civilian casualties in Ukraine during the initial ten months of 2025 have already exceeded the total number recorded throughout the entire previous year. The alarming escalation in civilian harm comes amid intensified Russian aerial attacks targeting energy infrastructure, creating widespread power outages and worsening humanitarian conditions as winter temperatures drop across the country.

Escalating Civilian Impact

Kayoko Gotoh, the UN officer-in-charge for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told the Security Council that "Ukrainian civilians have continued to bear the brunt of the Russian Federation's escalating aerial campaign." She revealed that in Kyiv specifically, civilian casualties were nearly 3.8 times higher in the first ten months of 2025 compared to all of 2024. According to UN human rights data, the conflict has claimed 14,534 Ukrainian civilian lives since February 2022, including 745 children, with an additional 38,472 injured.

Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

The destruction of energy infrastructure has resulted in "widespread and prolonged emergency power outages across most regions of the country, leaving millions without heating, water or public transportation as temperatures plummet," according to Gotoh. Edem Wosornu of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that "as freezing temperatures set in, fear, exhaustion and recurring strikes are compounding hardship nationwide," with power outages depriving families of heat and safe water essential for survival.

Displacement and Nuclear Safety Concerns

The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, with approximately 3.7 million people displaced within Ukraine and nearly 6 million living as refugees abroad. Wosornu reported 122,000 new displacements this year, primarily affecting women, children and elderly individuals who have often been forced to relocate multiple times. UN officials also expressed grave concerns about nuclear safety, noting "the fragility of nuclear safety and security during an active war" and warning that any nuclear incident would have "unimaginable consequences" extending far beyond Ukraine's borders.