The UN Human Rights agency has documented the deaths of 549 civilians in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began two weeks ago, it announced in Geneva on Thursday.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, made a point of stressing that the actual numbers were likely much higher. The agency releases death tolls and injury figures only for cases it has been able to independently verify. Staff members often need days to establish the number of victims killed in an attack.
“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes,” Bachelet’s office said
