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Russia's Invasion Has Killed Or Wounded Nearly 18,000 Ukrainian Civilians, UN Says


A woman kneels next to the body of her dead husband after Russian shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kherson on December 24.
A woman kneels next to the body of her dead husband after Russian shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kherson on December 24.

The number of confirmed civilian casualties from Russia's war in Ukraine is nearing 18,000, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has said. From February 24, when Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion, to December 26, there were 17,831 civilian casualties recorded in the country -- 6,884 killed and 10,947 wounded, the OHCHR said in a statement on December 27, adding that the actual toll was "considerably higher" but that getting reliable data from frontline areas was difficult. Among the killed were 429 children, the OHCHR said.

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