The UN confirmed nearly 1,800 civilians killed and more than 2,400 injured in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion

Nearly 1,800 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and more than 2,400 injured as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the latest update by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, released this Sunday.

“From 4 a.m. on 24 February, when the armed attack by the Russian Federation began on Ukraine, until 00 a.m. on 9 April, the High Commissioner has recorded 3,893 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 1,793 dead and 2,439 injured,” according to the report.

The deceased have been identified as 458 men, 294 women, 46 boys and 27 girls, as well as 69 children and 899 adults pending identification. The injured have been identified as 279 men, 213 women, 47 girls and 46 boys, as well as 136 children and 1,718 adults pending identification.

By areas of control, the United Nations estimates 1,722 dead and 2,164 injured in territory still controlled by the Ukrainian Government, counting 571 dead and 963 injured in areas under its control of the disputed Donetsk and Lugansk regions in the east of the country. In the area under the control of the militias of these self-proclaimed republics, the UN has recorded 346 casualties (71 dead and 275 injured).

The United Nations points out that most civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a “wide area of impact”, through heavy artillery, the use of rocket platforms, as well as air strikes.

The international agency further indicates that the actual figures “are considerably higher, especially in Government-controlled territory and especially in recent days”, because there is a lack of information on some places where intense hostilities have occurred and many details of casualties “are still pending corroboration”.

The United Nations also “takes note” of the report of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, according to which as of 0800 (local time) on 9 April, 177 children had been killed and 336 injured.

For its part, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency, more than 4.5 million Ukrainian refugees fled their country since the beginning of the Russian invasion on 24 February.

UNHCR reported that this Sunday there were 4,503,954 Ukrainian refugees. This is 62,291 more than the previous day. Europe had not seen such an avalanche of refugees since World War II.

Ninety per cent of those who have fled Ukraine are women and children, since the Ukrainian authorities do not allow men of military age to leave.

According to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM), some 210,000 non-Ukrainians have also fled the country, sometimes finding it difficult to return to their countries of origin.

Another 7.1 million people have been displaced within the country, according to figures released by IOM on 5 April.

This means that more than a quarter of the population has been forced to flee their homes, seeking refuge abroad or elsewhere in Ukraine.

Prior to the conflict, Ukraine housed more than 37 million people in Kiev-controlled territory, which does not include Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, or areas of the east under the control of pro-Russian separatists.

Poland is hosting, by far, the largest number of refugees from Ukraine.

Since the start of the war, 2,593,902 have crossed into Poland until Saturday, according to UNHCR. For its part, the Polish border police said on Sunday that it had recorded 2,630,000 arrivals.

Many refugees are going to other European countries.

Of those who remain in Poland, 700,000 have already received a national identification number, UNHCR said.

The number is widely used in relations with Polish public institutions and health services, to obtain a telephone number and access certain banking services.

The Polish border police estimate that more than 500,000 people have returned to Ukraine since the conflict began.

Poland had about 1.5 million Ukrainian immigrant workers before the war.

With information from Europa Press and AFP

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