September 2024 was a record-breaking month for civilian casualties in Ukraine

September was the month with the highest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine in 2024.

This was reported by the United Nations press service.

In September, at least 208 civilians were killed and 1,220 injured, making this the most tragic month for the civilian population of Ukraine in 2024. This continues the upward trend in casualties that began in July.

Nine children were killed and 76 others were injured. Almost half of those killed, 46%, were over 60 years old.

Rocket attacks and air strikes on cities such as Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia caused a significant number of casualties.

Drones have also been a major cause of civilian deaths, especially in Kherson region. UAVs caused damage both in government-controlled areas and in occupied Donetsk and Horlivka.

The majority of civilian casualties (92%) and damage to educational and medical facilities (96%) occurred in government-controlled areas.

At least 30 attacks resulted in damage or destruction of energy infrastructure. Of these, 25 occurred in Ukraine and 5 in the Russian-occupied territories.

Also in September, the number of cultural institutions affected by hostile shelling in Ukraine increased. Southern regions were among the most affected areas.

The number of affected cultural institutions increased by 49 percent. Damage was recorded in cultural institutions located in 296 territorial communities. In particular, in Mykolaiv region - 44.2%, Odesa region - 9.9%, and Kherson region - 43%. In total, 2093 cultural institutions were damaged, of which 361 were completely destroyed (17.25%).

As of mid-July 2024, 1636 medical facilities were damaged by Russian aggression, 214 of which were completely destroyed. Medical institutions in Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Dnipro, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions suffered the greatest losses.

The Russians also damaged 182 ambulances, destroyed 261 and captured 125 ambulances.

The war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine has already caused damage to the environment worth 2.4 trillion hryvnias. These losses exceed the damage from destroyed infrastructure and include land contamination, soil, water, air and forest fires. The south of Ukraine, in particular Odesa, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions, has been one of the most affected regions by the war due to its proximity to the frontline and the Black Sea.

Анна Бальчінос