KYIV, 24 April 2025 – United Nations human rights monitors are documenting a continued high intensity of attacks across Ukraine.
In the early hours of 24 April, the Russian Federation launched a large-scale, coordinated attack on Kyiv city and at least eight other regions of Ukraine, with scores of loitering munitions and missiles. At least nine civilians were reportedly killed in Kyiv, and 90 injured, including twelve children. Forty-four people have been hospitalized.
In one Kyiv location, a powerful missile directly struck a two-story residential building, razing it to the ground. Emergency workers continue rescue operations to reach people—possibly children—trapped beneath the rubble. Fires broke out across the city due to falling debris from intercepted missiles.
Similar attacks occurred overnight in several regions, including Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, and Kyiv, injuring civilians.
“The scenes of destruction and suffering in Kyiv this morning reflect a deeply disturbing trend—civilians bearing the brunt of ever more intense and frequent attacks”, said Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).
From 1 to 24 April 2025, HRMMU has verified 848 civilian casualties (151 killed and 697 injured)—a 46 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The verification process is still ongoing, with casualty numbers expected to rise.
Such Russian attacks with powerful missiles in populated cities have intensified in April, increasing civilian casualties.
On 13 April, on Palm Sunday morning, two ballistic missiles struck the historic center of Sumy city. The first missile reportedly hit the Sumy University Congress Center. A second missile exploded above ground only two minutes later, propelling shrapnel across a wide public area and causing most of the civilian casualties.
At least 31 civilians were killed in the Sumy attack, including two boys aged 11 and 17. At least 80 civilians were injured, including 14 children. Many of those killed were passengers on a city bus destroyed by the explosion. A children’s theater performance was scheduled at the Congress Center shortly afterward, underscoring that the strike occurred at a time and place where many civilians, including families and children, were expected to be present.
“On Wednesday, I visited Sumy Regional Hospital and spoke with three women who were seriously injured in the Palm Sunday attack. One, aged 62, was on a bus with her husband on their way to church when the second missile exploded. He was killed and she sustained a devastating head injury. Another, aged 64, was on her way to the market; she now faces multiple operations. The third, just 20 years old, had been working her shift at a small coffee stand when shrapnel tore through both her legs. Each of them was simply going about their Sunday morning when the missiles struck”, Bell added.
On 4 April, a missile strike above a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih killed 20 civilians, including nine children, the highest number of children killed in a single attack HRMMU has verified since the start of the full-scale invasion. The missile detonated in the air, launching shrapnel across the public park and thereby drastically increasing the number of casualties. At least 46 civilians were injured in this attack.
Other major cities such as Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia have also been hit repeatedly in recent weeks. In each case, the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects—including missiles, loitering munitions, and aerial bombs—has caused deaths, injuries, and widespread destruction on an almost daily basis.
In areas close to the frontline, civilians face ongoing threats from short-range drone attacks. On 23 April, a civilian shuttle bus in Marhanets, Dnipropetrovsk region, was struck by a Russian first-person view (FPV) drone. The bus, which was transporting employees to a mining and processing plant, was hit at approximately 07:25 in the morning. Nine civilians, were killed in the attack, including eight women and one man. Dozens were injured, and many remain in the hospitals. All of the killed and many of the injured were the employees of the plant.
“Nine people died on their way to work in what should have been a routine morning commute. These drones are guided by live video, meaning the operator should have seen that this was a civilian shuttle bus—yet it was still targeted,” Bell noted.
This is not an isolated incident. HRMMU has recorded an increase in civilians killed and injured by FPV drones in front-line areas of Kherson, Donetsk, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions. On Easter Sunday, a short-range drone attacked a clearly marked humanitarian convoy near Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, as volunteers were evacuating elderly civilians. At least one civilian woman was injured.
Other attacks in frontline areas kill and injure civilians on a daily basis. Yesterday, a 12-year-old girl was killed in shelling in Kostiantynivka. On the same day, an aerial bombardment in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, injured a 72-year-old woman, and killed her husband.
HRMMU continues to document these attacks and will provide further updates as information becomes available. For the latest reporting on human rights and civilian protection in Ukraine, visit: Home | UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
