Counting the cost: This is how many civilians have lost their lives in the first year of the war

Feb 24, 2023

They are mundane locations: a garage, a sports hall, a nursery, farm buildings, a bus stop. All have been attacked in the last week in Ukraine.

In Kherson, six people were killed while they were waiting for a bus. In Kharkiv, two people were killed in their homes by shelling.

In Izyum, a 55-year old forestry worker died after stepping on what’s called a petal mine.

UN demands Russia withdraws as Ukraine marks year of resistance – war latest

Analysis by the Sky News data and forensics team confirms there were 156 attacks in the last seven days.

Overall, 29 of these attacks led to death or injury: 25 civilians died and 55 were wounded, although the true number is likely higher.

That makes it a fairly typical week at this stage of the war.

There have been massed missile attacks leading to greater casualties but there is also a constant, steady toll. The frontline covers the country and no civilian is truly safe.

“It feels like a lottery,” Darka Hirna, a Ukrainian journalist based in Kyiv, told Sky News.

She lost a friend in one shelling attack.

“We’re really exhausted by this feeling – every time to think: well, I could be killed, now or later. So you think about death every day.”

This week, the UN human rights office confirmed that at least 8,006 civilians have been killed since Russia invaded.

The number injured is 13,287, although the UN warns that the true figure for both categories is likely to be substantially higher.

Over the course of a year, it means on average 22 civilians were killed each day and 36 were wounded.

And although the first weeks of the war were the deadliest for civilians, every month sees a steady tally of deaths – with a mooted Russian offensive still to be felt.

Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project shows where people have been killed – the bigger the circles, the higher the death toll.

The effect on those left alive is profound too.

“It’s not about daily deaths,” Darka told Sky News.

“It’s about how you cannot live your normal life. And the thing is that you come to this conclusion that you’re just really exhausted to live in this history book because it’s not interesting anymore.

“We’re just really exhausted by the whole situation, you know, and it’s really tough to continue to fight.

“But we don’t have another option.”

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