UN reports deadly month for Ukrainian civilians as Russian attacks intensify

Russian forces hammered Ukraine with ballistic missiles and long-range drones overnight on Tuesday, killing at least 17 civilians – mainly around Kyiv – and injuring another 44, the UN human rights office in Ukraine reported.The latest Russian attacks mark an increasingly deadly escalation in the ongoing war, with July marking the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, according to the UN’s aid coordination office (OCHA).In the first six months of 2026, UN monitors confirmed 1,396 Ukrainian civilians killed and 7,978 injured – a sharp increase from the same period in both 2024 and 2025 as Russia increases long-range strikes past the frontline.“With no cessation of the attacks, more families have been left devastated, displaced or struggling to rebuild their lives,” said Matthias Schmale, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator and top official in Ukraine.Attacks beyond KyivMultiple people were killed overnight on a railway platform in the Brovarskyi district, near KyivElsewhere in the country, aerial attacks and drone strikes hit the cities of Kramatorsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, killing and injuring dozens and destroying homes, schools, public transportation infrastr...