The conflict in eastern Ukraine is one of the deadliest in Europe since WWII, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report.
“The ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine is one of the deadliest in Europe since the Second World War. As a result, casualties continue to rise. In December 2017, OHCHR [the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights] recorded 39 conflict-related civilian casualties [7 killed and 32 injured). This is a 56 per cent increase compared to November, when 5 civilians were killed and 20 more injured,” the report reads.
“The number of civilian casualties in December is also the highest since August 2017 with 42 civilians killed or injured. Shelling, including small-arms fire, mines, booby-traps or Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) remain the major causes of casualties among the civilians,” OCHA added.
The report also said that “2017 was also one of the deadliest calendar years in terms of civilian casualties. OHCHR verifies that 105 civilians were killed and 486 were injured totalling the number of casualties to 591 civilians – this is a six per cent increase compared to 2016.”