Kyiv – In March, civilian casualties increased by 49 per cent from the preceding month, with at least 211 killed and 1,206 injured, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said today in its most recent monthly update. Casualties mounted further in April, with at least 46 civilians being killed and 343 injured in the space of just 9 days.
In March, short-range drones killed 66 civilians, more than any other weapon. They continued to cause casualties in April. For example, on 4 April, in the frontline city of Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region, a morning attack on a local market involving short-range drones killed 5 civilians and injured at least 26, including a 14-year-old girl. Three days later, on 7 April, a short-range drone attack on a public bus killed 4 civilians and injured 17.
Civilian casualties from short-range drones have risen substantially: in 2025, they were 121 per cent higher than in 2024 (226 killed and 1,528 injured in 2024; 580 killed and 3,295 injured in 2025); in March 2026 (66 killed; 369 injured), they were 70 per cent higher than in March 2025 (36 killed; 220 injured).
“Frontline areas are extremely dangerous for civilians, largely because of short-range drones,” said Danielle Bell who heads HRMMU. “Last month half the civilians killed in these areas were older people. Some were struck with drones while walking to collect their pensions or working in their gardens, in other words, while they tried to carry on with their everyday lives.”
Civilian harm was widespread across Ukraine, with casualties verified in 19 regions and the city of Kyiv in March, 97 per cent of which occurred in Ukrainian Government-controlled territory.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the UN Human Rights Office has verified at least 15,578 civilians killed, 784 of them children, and 43,352 injured, including 2,668 children.
