The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has declared 2025 the most lethal year for civilians since the escalation of hostilities in 2022. According to their latest report, conflict-related violence claimed at least 2,514 civilian lives last year—marking a significant escalation from 2,088 fatalities in 2024 and 1,974 in 2023. The number of injured civilians demonstrated a similar upward trajectory, increasing substantially each consecutive year.
The most devastating single incident occurred in November 2025, when an attack on the western city of Ternopil resulted in at least 38 civilian casualties, including eight children. The UN mission’s data reveals that the total civilian casualties (killed and injured) in 2025 represented a 31% increase from 2024 figures and a staggering 70% surge compared to 2023.
Danielle Bell, head of the monitoring mission, characterized these statistics as evidence of “a marked deterioration in the protection of civilians.” She elaborated that “this rise was driven not only by intensified hostilities along the frontline, but also by the expanded use of long-range weapons, which exposed civilians across the country to heightened risk.”
Concurrent with these findings, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that overnight Russian strikes on January 13th killed four people in Kharkiv and left “several hundred thousand households” without power in and around Kyiv amid subzero temperatures. The assault involved nearly 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles, and seven cruise missiles targeting urban centers nationwide.
Kyiv’s energy infrastructure suffered severe damage, with Yasno energy company CEO reporting citywide “emergency shutdowns” as emergency crews battled fires and worked to restore utilities in freezing conditions. Ukrainian officials accused Russia of deliberately targeting energy infrastructure to “deprive people of power, water and heating” during extreme cold weather.
Additional casualties were reported across multiple regions: ten injured in a Kharkiv postal terminal strike, two killed in Donetsk region attacks, and six injured in Odesa where strikes damaged residential buildings, energy facilities, a hospital, and a kindergarten.
The timing of these attacks carried historical significance, occurring on the 1,418th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion—equaling the duration of Soviet involvement in World War II. EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova noted on social media: “Back then, the USSR was attacked, fought back, and—thanks to massive Western support—ended the war victorious… Today, Putin chose this war. Planned it. Launched it. Owns it.”