All articles tagged with #civilian casualties
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow will continue strikes on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and infrastructure and will expand a security zone in Sumy and Kharkiv, claiming gains in Luhansk and Donetsk; meanwhile a new wave of attacks on Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Sumy left multiple civilians dead or wounded, including children, illustrating a renewed escalation.
A massive overnight Russian drone-and-missile attack hit Kyiv across about 30 locations, killing dozens including children, injuring many, and forcing tens of thousands to shelter in subway stations. Graphic images show a grieving mother cradling her dead son and emergency crews rescuing wounded as the city endures one of its most brutal strikes in years; Ukraine reports 74 missiles and 496 drones were used, with the toll potentially rising as rescue efforts continue.
Two siblings, Islam Moussa (15) and Abdullah Moussa (30), were killed when Israeli drones struck tents in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, wounding others, as fighting continues in Gaza despite a ceasefire and amid a rising civilian toll including children, according to Gaza health authorities and UN observers.
Defector reports that three recent U.S. sea strikes killed at least eight people and stranded six more, bringing fatalities to 215 in Operation Southern Spear. It notes a lack of public evidence that boats carried drugs and highlights White House claims that the dead are combatants in a narcoterrorism campaign, while arguing the strikes may violate international and U.S. law and reflect a bipartisan expansion of the war on drugs and terrorism both abroad and at home.
Seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal was killed when an Israeli soldier opened fire into his family’s car near Hebron in the occupied West Bank; his parents were wounded as they slowed to stop, contradicting initial IDF claims that the vehicle accelerated toward troops. The military says the incident is under investigation after video from B’Tselem suggested the car was not approaching at high speed. The family, who have faced prior settler attacks, mourns Sam’s death amid ongoing West Bank violence, with UN data noting 241 West Bank children killed since October 2023.
Russia launched ballistic missiles at Kyiv, striking the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra’s Assumption Cathedral and igniting a fire while damaging multiple buildings and causing power outages; at least 19 people were injured. The Lavra, a UNESCO-listed religious and cultural site, has now been hit in a major attack for the second time since WWII, as Moscow continues its campaign against Ukrainian civilians and heritage with no ceasefire in sight.
Palestinian casualties in Gaza have risen to more than 73,000 as Israeli airstrikes continue despite a ceasefire, with ongoing deaths, funerals, and renewed violence reported from Gaza City.
New footage from B’Tselem challenges the IDF’s claim that a vehicle accelerated toward troops, showing the car slowing to a stop in Hebron before seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal was killed and his parents wounded; the army has opened an investigation while rights groups warn of impunity for violence against Palestinians.
In the occupied West Bank’s Tel Rumeida area near Hebron, a seven‑month‑old boy died and his parents were injured after Israeli troops fired; the Palestinian health ministry identified the child and said the family was wounded, while the IDF says soldiers fired after perceiving a vehicle approaching and that three Palestinians were injured, with the incident under review.
Russia launched a large ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, wounding at least five people and causing fires and damage across several central districts as residents sought shelter in shelters and metro stations; the strikes followed Ukraine’s drone barrage in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, which Kyiv said targeted military facilities and prompted Moscow to threaten retaliation.
A May 2025 inspector general report found the Pentagon has effectively dismantled the legally required civilian-harm policy program (CHMR) and the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence (CP CoE) due to funding cuts and staff losses, leaving only a skeletal operation and risking non-compliance with federal law. The CHMR steering committee last met in December, two senior officials had proposed cutting the program earlier in the year, and DoD was given until June 12 to deliver a remediation plan. Civilian-harm monitors warn that degraded safeguards could lead to greater civilian casualties in ongoing operations.
A Russian cruise-missile strike hit a nine-story Kyiv apartment building, killing 24 people (including three teenagers) and wounding about 48 as Ukraine faced its largest barrage since the invasion; rescue workers spent more than a day digging through rubble, and President Zelenskyy visited the site to urge continued international support.
After a US-brokered three-day ceasefire expired, Russia launched hundreds of drones across Ukraine, killing at least six and injuring many others in attacks on regions including Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Odesa, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia; Kyiv says the strikes targeted civilian infrastructure and rail facilities, with authorities warning the barrage could be followed by major missile strikes. Ukrainian officials reported thousands of drones in play that day (753 drones in a single window, per the air force) amid ongoing cross-border incidents, while Russia claimed Ukrainian drones hit sites inside Russia. Slovakia closed a border crossing for security reasons as cross-border tensions rose.
Russia launched a prolonged, multi‑wave drone-and-missile assault across Ukraine using a new Shahed tactic to overwhelm air defenses; Ukrainian intelligence warned Moscow could later unleash cruise and ballistic missiles against critical infrastructure and major cities, with civilian casualties and power outages reported in several regions and a drone incursion into Moldova, while Ukraine’s forces shot down or suppressed many drones overnight.
Armed rebels linked to CODECO killed at least 69 people in Ituri after an earlier CRP assault, with the toll potentially rising as bodies are recovered. MONUSCO rescued nearly 200 civilians from the CRP attack on FARDC positions and condemned the violence. The violence highlights a long-running Hema–Lendu conflict in the mineral-rich eastern DRC, compounded by multiple armed groups and ongoing attacks by others such as ADF and M23, leaving civilians at great risk.