Victim and Refugee Data
It’s been two years now: 730 days since Vladimir Putin ordered the bombing of Ukraine; The 104-week crisis and destruction has left at least 30,000 civilian victims, including dead and injured, and six million refugees in the country of more than 43 million inhabitants.
The invasion of Russia has become a perceived lightning operation, with the first Russian plane shot down over Kiev roaring on February 24, 2022 The largest armed conflict in Europe since the end of World War II And it is still far from over.
Total Ukrainian civilian casualties in this war that started on European soil till November 2023 over 10,000 dead -500 children- and approximately 19,000 injured -More than 1,600 children-, according to the latest report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
or what is that, Every 24 hours 16 civilians die and 29 are injured, And the current count is lower than a year ago. Compared to the first year of the war, the number of deaths decreased by 78% and the number of injured by 52%.
The first months of the invasion were the deadliestThere were nearly 4,200 deaths in March alone and more than 800 in April. At the other extreme, after a severe winter, with a frozen front and a shortage of weapons, the last months of 2023 have the fewest deaths.
But, despite the number of victims being quite low, the bombing doesn’t stop And Ukraine, accustomed to frequent cuts in water and energy supplies, demands Western aid (especially from the United States) that is blocked and delayed.
65% of deaths were recorded in the three eastern provinces
The areas most affected by the war have been Donetsk and Lugansk provinces from the beginning, Which, in turn, form Donbass and are on the border with Russia. Russian troops, after partially occupying this extensive area in 2014, deployed to the front line and focused their offensive on these two areas under the pretext of “demilitarizing” and “denigrating” Ukraine.
in the field of Donetsk There have been some clashes that have set the pace of the conflict for months, such as the disputes over Solder, Bakhmut or now Avdiivka. In this province of less than one million inhabitants and somewhat larger than the Valencian Community, 4,600 civilians have lost their lives – 47% of the total – And another 8,600 were injured. In the north of Donbass, in the area of luhanskThe United Nations estimates the number of dead at more than 500 and the number of injured at around 800.
Another area that has suffered constant siege and bombardment KharkivWhere the front line is mainly located around Kupyansk and Liman and Moscow’s forces have withdrawn from More than 1,200 dead bodies.
province of KhersonIn the south of the country and bordered by the Black Sea, which is important because of its connection with the Crimean peninsula – unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014 –, Register More than 800 civilians were killed From Russian attacks. Positional battles in the region are frequent: the Dnieper River divides it in two and both sides fight for control of the other bank.
area of KyivRegisters despite not being on the country’s border More than 900 deaths. 75 civilians lost their lives in the capital, according to UN figures, which keeps its air defenses on constant alert. According to available data, only three regions in the West will remain devoid of civilian casualties today: Ternopil, Chernivtsi and Uzhhorod.
Donbass objective: 30,000 bombings and more than 13,000 deaths
There has been conflict in these two years Over 17,000 battles, With a balance of approximately 35,000 dead, and more 70,200 bomb attacks, That has claimed another 30,200 lives, according to the latest data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).
Although the entire country is suffering from the consequences of the war, three of the four explosions occurred in Ukraine’s eastern regions. 40% of the bombings took place in Donetsk, Due to which about 8,800 people died. Another 4,300 civilians were killed Luhansk, With only 4% explosions.
17% targeted by airstrikes and bombings Kharkiv and 13%, Zaporizhia, another major region due to the presence of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. in the south of that country, Kherson 10% of air impact was recorded.
In relation to the first year of the war, the pace of Bombings remain approximately 34,000 per year, but the death toll has halved: from 20,000 deaths to less than 9,700. So far in 2024 (data as of February 15), 3,711 eruptions have been recorded, causing 1,073 deaths.
The month with the most bombings was August 2022 (over 4,000), and recorded one in every two air raids (14,800) in the first year of the war between June and September. That summer, after the Kremlin seized all of Lugansk, the two sides fought for control of Kharkiv, before Ukraine launched a lightning counter-offensive to recapture the eastern stronghold in September.
At least 3.7 million internally displaced people and six million refugees
Beyond the impact of the war, the consequences of this war are also measured in About 10 million Ukrainians who have fled their homes. Thus, one in four people have taken refuge in another Ukrainian region or fled to another country.
Although there are people who have returned home, there are currently At least 3.7 million people displaced in other areas of the country, according to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). However, this figure is estimated to be higher, as it is not possible to know what the situation is in the front areas.
65% of the displaced come from the eastern regions, which have been most devastated by the fighting. A third left Donbass; 22% left Kharkiv; 11%, Zaporizhia; and another 11%, Kherson.
As a destination, Nearly one million people – one in four displaced people – chose Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv, the two eastern areas are close to the front line and are also subject to frequent air attacks. On the other hand, about 650,000 Ukrainians have moved to Kyiv province and more than 300,000 have taken refuge in the western regions.
More than six million people have fled Ukraine And have become refugees especially in European countries. One in five people have sought refuge in Russia, another one million have sought refuge in Germany and 16% have traveled to neighboring Poland, according to the latest UNHCR report based on data provided by recipient countries.
The Czech Republic has welcomed more than 380,000 people and the United Kingdom more than 250,000. Spain is the sixth country with the highest number of Ukrainian refugees, with about 200,000. Just over 7% of the total have found asylum in Belarus, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova or Romania, which, along with Germany and Poland, share a border with Ukraine, although they are destinations that have received fewer refugees.