Updated Oct 29

Civilian Harm

A UN inquiry has found that Russia’s campaign against Ukraine’s power system is a crime against humanity, and the people of occupied Oleshky have their first truce, though not yet a way out.

On October 26 the UN’s Commission of Inquiry told the General Assembly that Russian authorities committed war crimes and the crime against humanity of “other inhumane acts” by attacking Ukraine’s energy system. It found the attacks followed a state policy to deprive civilians of power and cause suffering, on the evidence of 255 witnesses who lived through last winter at minus 21°C.

A local truce took effect in and around Oleshky on October 27 and runs to November 1, Ukraine says. The White House credits Melania Trump with brokering it. Ukraine’s and Russia’s human-rights commissioners said on October 29 that it was holding, with aid due the next day. No one had been evacuated, estimates of who remains run from 1,700 to 6,000, and reported plans route evacuees through Crimea or Russia.

The killing went on elsewhere. On October 29 a drone hit a crowded platform at Dnipro’s station, killing 14, and strikes on Chernihiv and Kremenchuk killed five more, officials said.

New Oct 29

The whole story5 chapters

The state of it — as of October 29, 2026

328

civilians killed in September, the most for any September of the war

2,570

civilians killed January–September 2026, verified by UN monitors

2,495 of 20,000+

children returned of those deported or abducted, on Ukraine's own count

Today

All new

Oct 29, 2026

A Drone Kills 14 on a Crowded Platform in Dnipro

A Russian jet-powered drone hit a platform at Dnipro’s main station at about 11am on October 29, beside a commuter train for Zaporizhzhia, killing 14 people and injuring 14, including an 11-year-old boy, by the regional head’s count that day. An air-raid warning had been issued, the railway’s chief said, but the platform was crowded. The same day a cruise missile killed two 15-year-old girls in Chernihiv and a drone killed three people in an apartment block in Kremenchuk; officials put the day’s toll at 19 killed and 56 injured. These are officials’ first-day counts; the UN has not verified them.

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Ukrainska PravdaCBS NewsAl Jazeera EnglishAssociated Press

Oct 27, 2026

A Truce Begins in Oleshky, but No One Is Out Yet

A local truce in and around occupied Oleshky took effect at 3am on October 27, Russia’s defence ministry said, to let aid in and civilians out; Ukraine says it runs to midnight on November 1. The White House credits Melania Trump as intermediary. Ukraine’s and Russia’s human-rights commissioners, who run it, both said on October 29 there had been no violations; aid was due the next day. Estimates of who remains range from 1,700–2,000 (the White House) to up to 6,000 in the wider area (Kyiv). Residents told the BBC they were eating weeds. Reported plans route evacuees through occupied Crimea or Russia, and residents fear screening.

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BBC NewsThe GuardianAssociated PressThe White HouseDeutsche Welle (DW)EuronewsCBS News

Oct 27, 2026

Ukrainian Prisoners Are Moved From Occupied Makiivka to Colonies Deep in Russia

Ukrainian prisoners of war, civilian political prisoners and convicts held at penal colony No. 32 in occupied Makiivka have been moved to strict-regime colonies in Tambov and Morshansk, in Russia, and one prisoner of war as far as Kyzyl in Tyva, Novyny Donbasu reported on October 27. About 35 political prisoners and servicemen had been held there, most for seven to nine years, on sentences of 10 to 17 years for “espionage”, “terrorism” or “extremism”. The transfers began in August. Two servicemen from the colony were freed in an exchange on October 23. The account relays relatives and released prisoners.

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Ukrainska Pravda

Earlier this month

NewOct 26, 2026

A UN Inquiry Finds Russia’s Attacks on Ukraine’s Power Are Crimes Against Humanity

The UN’s Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine told the General Assembly on October 26 that Russian authorities committed war crimes, by intentionally directing attacks at civilian objects, and the crime against humanity of “other inhumane acts” through their attacks on Ukraine’s energy system. It found the attacks were carried out with intent and under a state policy to deprive civilians of power and cause suffering, and that commanders knew the heating plants they hit were indispensable in winter, when temperatures fell to minus 21°C and millions lost heat, power and water. The findings rest on 255 witnesses in nine oblasts. The commission examined Ukraine’s strikes on Russian energy but could not assess them, because Russia gave it no access. It also found that Russia trafficked men from 29 countries into its army, in violation of human rights law.

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UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR)UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR)

Oct 22, 2026

A Shuttle Bus, a Suburb of Children and an Ambulance Station: Kyiv's Week Under Fire

Russian missiles and drones killed at least nine people on October 20, officials said. In Kyiv region's Bucha district a woman was killed and 21 people wounded, eight of them children. Three died on the Kyiv–Odesa highway, among them the driver of a shuttle bus carrying mourners to the National Military Memorial Cemetery; two were killed at warehouses near Dnipro. Overnight into October 22, ballistic missiles on Kyiv killed at least two and wounded 22, four of them children, hitting homes, an ambulance station, offices and a monastery. These are officials' first counts; the UN has not yet verified them.

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PBS NewsHourThe Guardian

Oct 21, 2026

Oleshky's Evacuation Is Said to Be Close, but No UN Body Can Run It

Ukraine's ombudsman said on October 18 that the two sides were near a ceasefire and evacuation covering Oleshky and six other villages, where Kyiv estimates about 6,000 civilians remain, some 200 of them children. Nothing had been agreed by October 21. Ukraine's envoy in Geneva says the Red Cross is ready but is refused a corridor twice a week; the Red Cross has not said so. The UN's Commission of Inquiry and human rights office say they document abuses and do not run evacuations. On October 20 a European Parliament vice-president, Pina Picierno, began a hunger strike for a truce.

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HromadskeUkrainska PravdaThe Kyiv IndependentUnited24 MediaX (self-published post)ZMINA Human Rights Centre

NewOct 18, 2026

We are now moving towards agreeing the final details on ensuring a ceasefire and evacuating everyone who wishes to leave, not just from Oleshky elsewhere, but directly to territory controlled by the Ukrainian government. There are still some difficult issues, so to speak, but I hope that in the near future we will all see results from these negotiations.

— Dmytro Lubinets Mixed

Checked: mixed

Mixed. The ceasefire half held: a local truce took effect in Oleshky on October 27 (Russia’s defence ministry, via BBC) and both commissioners reported no violations to October 29 (AP). The evacuation half has not: none had begun by October 29, and reported plans route people through occupied Crimea or Russia (Guardian; Save Ukraine, DW), not directly to Ukrainian-held territory.

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Ukrainska PravdaThe Kyiv IndependentUnited24 MediaBBC NewsAssociated PressThe GuardianDeutsche Welle (DW)

Oct 17, 2026

In Kherson, a Second Strike on the Same Spot Kills the Ambulance Driver

A Russian airstrike on Kherson at about 4 a.m. on October 17 injured 35 civilians, among them a one-month-old boy, an 11-year-old girl and two medical workers; less than an hour later a second strike on the same place killed an ambulance driver, the regional prosecutor’s office said. It counted one killed and 40 injured in the oblast that day. A day earlier, Ukrainian officials said, attacks on nine regions killed at least eight people and injured 60; drones hit shopping centres in Rivne, where one person died, and in Sumy. These are officials’ counts; the UN has not yet verified them.

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Ukrainska PravdaAl Jazeera English

Oct 16, 2026

The Pope Asks Putin for a Way Out of Oleshky, and the Kremlin Says It Will Cooperate

Pope Leo XIV urged Vladimir Putin by phone on October 16 to agree a ceasefire so food and medicine could reach occupied Oleshky and civilians could leave, the Vatican said; the Kremlin said Putin backed the effort and was ready to cooperate. Fewer than 2,000 of about 24,000 pre-war residents remain, AP reports, without power, heat or running water. The UN human rights office says the two sides have discussed a temporary ceasefire and corridor without agreement. The Red Cross will help only if both agree and civilians have guarantees; Ukraine’s ombudsman says Russia has given none it can verify. Occupation officials say mined roads make evacuation impossible.

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KCRA 3 (Hearst Television)

Oct 15, 2026

The Worst September of the War for Civilians, and an October Begun Worse

UN monitors verified at least 328 civilians killed and 2,105 injured in Ukraine in September, the most for any September of the full-scale war; killed and injured together ran 85 per cent above September 2025. From January to September they count 2,570 killed and 15,211 injured. Missiles and long-range drones caused just over half the casualties. Kyiv was hit hardest: 32 killed, and civilians hurt on 22 of 30 days, more often than in any earlier month. Russian authorities report deaths in occupied areas and in Russia that the UN mostly cannot verify. The mission’s head called early October among the deadliest periods in years.

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UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR)UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR)

Oct 9, 2026

The UN Counts More Than a Hundred Civilians Killed in a Single Week

More than 100 civilians were killed and at least 429 injured in Ukraine in one week, the UN human rights office reported to the Security Council on October 9. Its briefer, Khaled Khiari, said every month of 2026 has brought more civilian casualties — killed and injured together — than the same month in any of the three previous years. Monitors’ preliminary count for September 1 to 24 was at least 200 killed and 1,234 injured. Inside Russia the office has recorded reports of 496 civilians killed and 3,394 injured since January. Some 2,000 people are reported trapped in occupied Oleshky without food or medicine.

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United NationsUN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR)

Oct 8, 2026

A Glide Bomb Hits Two Buses in Kramatorsk, and Three Cities Are Bombed in Six Days

A Russian glide bomb hit two passenger buses in Kramatorsk on October 8, about 20 kilometres from the front. Ukrainian officials counted at least 30 dead and 18 wounded; the UN was told of 33. Neither figure is independently verified. The governor, who called the strike deliberate, halted public transport in Kramatorsk and Slovyansk. On October 5 three glide bombs hit a Kharkiv apartment block and two businesses; reporters there saw bodies recovered, and local authorities counted six dead and 59 injured. On October 10 five glide bombs hit apartment blocks in Zaporizhzhia; local officials counted at least 20 dead, four of them children, and 32 injured.

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BBC NewsDeutsche Welle (DW)Al Jazeera EnglishUnited NationsGwara MediaThe Canadian PressBBC News

Oct 8, 2026

Oleshky: Two Thousand People Cut Off, and No Agreed Way Out

About 2,000 people remain in Russian-occupied Oleshky without running water, power or gas, the UN human rights chief said on October 2. Residents say no food has come by road since June, when a delivery driver was killed by a mine; mines also line the routes out. Of more than 60 who left in September, 12 reached Ukrainian-held ground, the town’s exiled administrator says. On October 8 Ukraine’s ombudsman reported no breakthrough on an evacuation: Kyiv has offered a local ceasefire, and the Red Cross will mediate if both sides agree. Each side blames the other. Ukraine has dropped food by drone; residents interviewed said they received none.

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United NationsThe Moscow TimesThe Kyiv IndependentUkrinformThe Ukrainian Week (Tyzhden)

Sep 29, 2026

The Toronto Pledge: Returns Promised, With No Number and No Deadline

A conference in Toronto on September 28–29 on returning Ukrainian children, detained civilians and prisoners of war, chaired by Canada, Ukraine and Norway, ended with a communiqué endorsed by more than fifty states and organisations: the Toronto Pledge. It commits them to support tracing, returns and reintegration, with no number, fund or deadline. It concedes that for detained civilians ‘no predictable mechanism for their release and return has yet emerged’, and makes an all-for-all prisoner exchange an objective. A week earlier a UN inquiry found children in occupied areas schooled on the Russian curriculum under coercion, with weapons training compulsory from fourteen.

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European CommissionUN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR)

This quarter

Sep 3, 2026

Russia Keeps Moving Ukrainian Detainees Into Its Prisons, and Sentencing Those It Leaves

Russia is continuing to move Ukrainian detainees off occupied land into its own prison system, and to hand down decades-long sentences to those who remain. The Crimean Tribunal group reported on 31 August that activist Ksenia Svetlishina, sentenced to 13 years in 2024, was deported from occupied Crimea to a Vologda women's prison; Donbas News reported five Ukrainian POWs and one civilian moved from a Makiivka colony into Russian penal colonies, in declining health. ISW assesses the transfers likely breach the Fourth Geneva Convention, which bars deporting civilian detainees into the occupying state, and logged seven fresh 13-to-23-year treason and espionage sentences across occupied Ukraine.

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Institute for the Study of War

Sep 1, 2026

Ukraine Counts 20,000 Children Deported and 2,495 Returned, and Gets a Conference Date

The General Assembly gave 1 September to Ukraine's occupied territories. Its president Annalena Baerbock put civilian casualties in the first half of 2026 at 114 per cent above the same period of 2024. Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, Mariana Betsa, told the chamber that more than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been deported or abducted and 2,495 have come back — Kyiv's own figures, the deportation count an allegation. The Nordic and Baltic states backed the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression, and Toronto hosts a second Canada-Norway-Ukraine ministerial on returning children, detained civilians and prisoners of war on 28-29 September.

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United NationsGovernment of CanadaInterfax-Ukraine

Aug 31, 2026

Eight Months of 2026 Have Now Cost More Civilian Lives Than All of 2025

UN human rights monitors verified 372 civilians killed and 2,349 injured in Ukraine in August — the second-highest monthly total of 2026, after July’s 448 and 2,675. Across January to August they verified 2,222 killed and 13,058 injured: more than in the whole of 2025, 55 per cent above the same eight months last year, and more than double the same period of 2024. Long-range missiles and drones caused 47 per cent of August’s casualties, mostly in cities far from the front; short-range drones caused 30 per cent near the line. In occupied territory the mission verified 4 killed and 35 injured, a fraction of what Russian authorities assert there and inside Russia — claims the monitors say they cannot check for want of independent access.

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UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR)UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR)

Aug 24, 2026

July Was the Deadliest Month for Civilians in Four Years, and the Count Is Now Kept on Both Sides

Briefing the Security Council on 24 August, the UN's Rosemary DiCarlo said more civilians were killed in Ukraine in July than in any month since May 2022: at least 17 children killed and 166 injured, the worst month for children since April 2022, with August's figures pointing the same way. OHCHR has now verified 16,874 civilians killed in Ukraine since February 2022, including 820 children, and 51,273 injured, including 3,126 children. She read the other side of the ledger from Russia's own reporting: 329 civilians killed and 2,197 injured inside Russia between January and July, up 119 percent year on year. Among the named incidents in Ukraine, a drone strike on Kryvyi Rih's largest shopping centre on 21 August reportedly killed 16 and wounded more than 140, 23 of them children.

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UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR)ReliefWeb (UN OCHA)

Aug 22, 2026

A Russian Army Unit Films Itself Killing a Cyclist, Then Takes the Video Down

Geolocated footage published on 22 August shows an FPV drone striking a Ukrainian civilian riding a bicycle west of Pershomarivka, east of Kramatorsk. What distinguishes it from the rest of this record is who posted it: the official account of Russia's 3rd Combined Arms Army, showing its own 2nd Artillery Brigade — and then deleted it, which the Russian opposition outlet Astra reads as recognition that the video documents an unequivocal war crime. A second FPV strike near Druzhkivka the same day killed one person in a civilian car and injured another. ISW assesses that Russia's use of FPV drones against civilians in the near rear reflects a military culture that institutionalises intentional civilian harm.

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Institute for the Study of War

Aug 19, 2026

A Russian Drone Kills Four in a Kherson Minibus, and ISW Calls the Hunting of Civilians a Policy

A Russian first-person-view drone deliberately struck a minibus in Kherson City on August 19, killing four civilians and injuring five, with geolocated footage of the aftermath. The Institute for the Study of War assessed the attack as part of a pervasive culture within the Russian military that has institutionalised intentional civilian harm as a purposeful tool of war, singling out the FPV "hunting" of civilians in the Ukrainian near-rear and especially in Kherson. It follows the filmed August 4 killing of a Kherson vegetable seller and the United Nations' finding that short-range drones near the front killed 111 civilians in July alone — the same documented pattern, now with a body count for a single strike.

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Institute for the Study of War

Aug 10, 2026

The UN Puts a Number on Russia's Detention System, and Its Own on Ukraine's

At a UN Security Council Arria-formula session convened by Latvia and the UK, Assistant Secretary-General Claudia Fuentes Julio set out what her office has verified. More than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians remain in Russian custody, many incommunicado. It has documented 129 Ukrainian prisoners of war executed at capture and 48 dead in custody. Of 910 released Ukrainian prisoners of war interviewed, more than 95 per cent reported torture or ill-treatment; of 403 released civilians, 85 per cent. Russia has never granted access. In Ukraine, where it has access, about half of 816 Russian prisoners of war reported ill-treatment, mostly at capture. Russia’s deputy ambassador called the meeting disinformation. The office urged states to prepare all-for-all exchange arrangements now.

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United NationsSecurity Council ReportPBS NewsHourEuronews

Aug 4, 2026

A Drone Hunts a Vegetable Seller in Kherson, and Ukraine Calls It a War Crime

A video published by Ukrainian police shows a Russian FPV drone stalking Yuriy, a 52-year-old vegetable seller, through a market in Kherson’s Tavriiskyi district before diving onto him; he survived with blast trauma and shrapnel wounds. He holds up garlic to the camera to show he is not filming. BBC Verify geolocated it a few miles from the front. Zelensky called it a Russian “safari” against civilians; Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it a “barbaric war crime”. A 2025 UN report found Russian forces had “recurrently killed and injured civilians” there with drones. Russia denies targeting civilians. In July the UN mission counted 111 civilians killed and 710 injured by short-range drones, 27 per cent of all it verified.

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BBC NewsRadio Free Europe/Radio LibertyUN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (OHCHR)

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