Beyza Binnur Donmez
22 May 2026•Update: 22 May 2026
Civilian casualties in Ukraine rose 21% during the first four months of 2026 as Russian attacks intensified across the country, the UN refugee agency said Friday.
Bernadette Castel-Hollingworth, the UNHCR representative in Ukraine, told reporters in Geneva that at least 815 civilians were killed and 4,174 injured between January and April, citing figures from the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
She said the increase reflects a broader escalation in attacks that is forcing more people to flee their homes and disrupting humanitarian operations as the war enters its fifth year.
On May 20, a warehouse in Dnipro leased by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was directly hit during a Russian missile strike, killing at least two people and destroying around 900 pallets of basic aid items and shelter materials worth more than $1 million.
“This was the first such attack on a UNHCR facility since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion,” Castel-Hollingworth said.
She added that deadly strikes this week also hit the Sumy and Chernihiv regions, while recent attacks on Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro reportedly killed and injured dozens more civilians.
Since the start of 2026, nearly 47,000 evacuees have passed through UNHCR-supported transit centers, although the actual number displaced is believed to be higher, according to the representative.
The UNHCR also warned about rising risks for humanitarian workers after two clearly marked UN aid convoys were hit by drones near frontline areas last week.
“The repeated attacks against humanitarians on duty are a clear violation of international law,” Castel-Hollingworth said.
