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July toll hits record
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said civilian deaths in Ukraine reached their highest level in July since the opening months of Russia’s invasion in 2022, with “At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine in July.”
“At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine in July”
The UN said the July figure was “a 30 percent increase compared with the previous month and a 70 percent increase compared with July 2025,” and warned it likely underestimates casualties because it cannot confirm deaths in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.
The UN also said it has verified the deaths of 16,874 civilians since Russia’s invasion, and noted that at least 54 civilians were killed in Kyiv during the month.
Russian authorities reported an increase in the number of civilians killed to 79 in July, while the UN said it could not independently verify those figures to its verification standards due to lack of access and limited information.
Train strike and air defence
On Thursday, Russian news agencies citing the Federal Security Service (FSB) said a Russian military official was killed in an explosion in Russian-annexed Crimea, while Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone hit a passenger train in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region, killing two crew members.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of continuing a campaign of “terror” by attacking the train, saying “Whoever was operating that drone certainly could not have been unaware that the target was entirely civilian.”
The chairman of the state railway operator, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, said that while two crew members were killed, including the train’s driver, none of the passengers was harmed.
Zelenskyy also pleaded for more advanced air defence systems, repeating that “more air defence support and more pressure on Russia are needed if the world is serious about stopping this war in Europe.”
What’s at stake next
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine linked the rise in civilian deaths and injuries to the more active use of ballistic and cruise missiles by the Russian armed forces, saying Russia used at least 429 missiles against Ukraine throughout July.
“Russia used at least 429 missiles against Ukraine – twice as many as in June”
In July, the UN said the number of civilian casualties was the highest in a single month since March 2022, and Danielle Bell, head of the HRMMU, said the civilian casualties “had increased every month since the beginning of the year.”
The UN said it has verified the deaths of 16,874 civilians since Russia’s invasion, but warned the figure is likely a significant underestimate because it cannot confirm casualties in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.
Against that backdrop, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed more US air defence missiles, telling CNN that Ukraine needs “at least 5% of the current US stockpile of Patriot interceptor missiles” to ward off surging Russian ballistic missile attacks.
