In January 2025, short-range drones caused more civilian deaths and injuries than any other weapon, striking people in their cars, buses, and on the streets.
This was reported by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMNU) on Tuesday, February 11, according to Ukrinform.
“According to HRMMU’s verified data, published today in its monthly update on the protection of civilians, at least 139 civilians were killed and 738 injured in Ukraine in January 2025. Thirty-eight civilian deaths (27 per cent) and 223 injuries (30 per cent) resulted from attacks with short-range drones dropping explosives onto civilians, often in their private vehicles or on public transport,” the report states.
Daniel Bell, Head of the Mission, emphasized that short-range drones currently pose one of the deadliest threats to civilians in frontline areas.
The Mission reported that in January, 95% of casualties from short-range drone attacks occurred in Ukrainian-controlled territory, while 5% occurred in Russian-occupied areas.
“The majority of civilian casualties from short-range drones have occurred in government-controlled parts of Kherson, particularly along the Dnipro River. In January, these drones caused 70 per cent of all civilian casualties in the region,” the Mission noted.
The HRMMU also documented an increase in civilian casualties from short-range drone attacks in other frontline areas, including Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
According to documented data, the number of civilian casualties from short-range drones increased significantly throughout 2024, with a sharp rise in the second half of the year.
“Our data shows a clear and disturbing pattern of short-range drones being used in ways that put civilians at grave risk. The on-board cameras should allow operators to distinguish with a higher degree of certainty between civilians and military objectives, yet civilians continue to be killed in alarming numbers,” Bell stated.
As previously reported by Ukrinform, since late August last year, the HRMMU has documented 79 cases of executions of captured Ukrainian soldiers by Russian forces in 24 separate incidents.
Source: In January, drones cause more civilian casualties in Ukraine than any other weapon – UN
