Civilian casualties were 31 percent higher between January and September 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to the HRMMU. monthly report published Thursday.
“Last month’s high civilian casualties confirm the worrying pattern of intense violence in Ukraine this year, as shown Virtually no day goes by without civilians dying or being injured, especially in frontline communities.said HRMMU leader Danielle Bell.
Frontline danger
Sixty-nine percent of September’s casualties occurred near the front line, with particularly high numbers in the Donetsk and Kherson regions of eastern Ukraine. Nearly 30 percent of all casualties were caused by short-range drone attacks.
On Thursday, in the Donetsk region, a bomb hit near a postal vehicle while elderly people were receiving their pensions.
Twenty-one of those killed and 13 of the injured were over 60 years old.. Elderly people are often among the last residents to evacuate their community, HRMMU explains; at least 87 of them were killed last month.
Critical infrastructure at stake
Compared to August, September saw a 15 percent increase of attacks affecting energy infrastructure compared to August 2025. Thirty-one attacks have been documented.
The United Nations Aid Coordination Office (OCHA) reported This weekend’s attacks left some 70,000 people without power and disrupted gas and water supplies.
Humanitarians have warned that as winter approaches, strikes on critical infrastructure will exacerbate civilian needs.
HRMMU said that on Thursday evening, another massive nationwide strike targeting energy facilities caused power outages in several areas, including the capital, and reportedly killed a seven-year-old boy.
“Before, we had a feeling of security at home, but not anymore. Drones buzz like bees and fly non-stop. We cannot sleep at night or during the day. We are exhausted“, said a man evacuated from Kostiantynivka, a town in eastern Ukraine.
Since February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, HRMMU has documented at least 14,383 civilians killed, including 738 children, and 37,541 injured, including 2,318 children.
