Death toll rises to six in Russian army attack on Ukraine’s Dnipro city

UN mission says May saw highest civilian casualty toll ‘in nearly a year’

4 Jul. () –

The death toll from the attack carried out on Wednesday by the Russian army against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, capital of the province of Dnipropetrovsk, has risen to six, after a woman injured in the bombing died in recent hours in hospital.

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lisak said in a brief statement posted on his Facebook account that “a 60-year-old woman who was injured during the attack has died in hospital” and declared a day of mourning in the city. “Sincere condolences to the family and friends,” he concluded.

Following the incident, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of carrying out “terrorist attacks” and once again stressed the need for Ukraine’s allies to continue supplying the Armed Forces with “modern air defence systems” necessary to repel such attacks.

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) reported on Wednesday that May had seen the highest number of civilian casualties “in almost a year” and pointed to an increase in Russian attacks between March and May.

The report details the situation between March 1 and May 31, and points to the difficulties faced by the population and the impact of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, its new offensive in Kharkiv and other developments in the occupied areas in the context of the invasion unleashed in February 2022.

“The fighting in the spring took a horrific toll on civilians, particularly in the region and in the city of Kharkiv,” said HRMMU head Danielle Bell. “The relentless attacks led to tragic loss of life, displacement and destruction of homes and businesses.”

The mission highlighted the use of air-dropped bombs and missiles fired at populated areas as the main causes of this situation, including five cases of successive attacks on the same location in a short period of time, which caused casualties among those who rushed to help after the first attack.

Additionally, during this period, the Russian Armed Forces launched their largest campaign of attacks against critical infrastructure in Ukraine since the winter of 2022-2023. “Five waves of attacks against energy infrastructure resulted in civilian casualties and significant power outages for millions of people across the country, with cascading effects on water supplies, mobile and internet connectivity, and public transportation,” Bell noted.

“The full impact of the attacks on energy infrastructure will only become clear this coming winter, when Ukraine’s reduced power generation capacity could leave many without access to heating and other services necessary for their survival,” the head of the mission argued.

The HRMMU also documented cases of persecution in Ukrainian-controlled areas on charges of “collaboration”, while also outlining steps taken by the Government to adopt measures to improve compliance with international humanitarian law, according to a statement released by the mission.

In addition, in the case of the occupied territories, he denounced that residents face pressure from the authorities to obtain Russian citizenship, which they need to access medical services and maintain their property rights, while relatives of detainees and prisoners of war lamented the lack of information about their whereabouts.