Day 308: Number of Civilians Killed 'Considerably Higher' Than 6.8K Known, UN Says

Facts

• The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday released its latest casualty figures for the war in Ukraine. The agency said 6,884 civilians had been confirmed killed while 10,947 were confirmed injured — the majority of those coming from the Donbas regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.¹
• However, the agency warned that the figures are likely far below the real numbers. The organization said it thinks the 'actual figures are considerably higher,' citing the delay in reporting caused by intense conflict along with the fact that 'many reports are still pending corroboration.'¹
• Meanwhile, according to multiple reports, Ukrainian forces are strengthening their numbers near the west Luhansk city of Kreminna ahead of a possible offensive. It would be strategically important if recaptured by Ukraine, as the city controls a major road to Lysychansk and Severodonetsk — cities taken by Russian and pro-Russia forces earlier in the year.²
• In neighboring Donetsk, where heavy fighting continues near Bakhmut, Ukrainian officials said three civilians have been injured in Russian attacks on the city in the past day. Pro-Russia officials from the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said four civilians were injured in Ukrainian attacks on the region during the same time period.³
• Further Russian attacks also continued to be reported in the regions of Kharkiv and Kherson, with three civilian injuries recorded in each of the regions. The regions of Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk were also attacked without reports of civilian casualties at this stage.⁴
• Elsewhere, police in India are investigating the death of Pavel Antov, a Russian businessman and politician, who reportedly fell from a hotel window in the eastern state of Odisha. His death came two days after member of his travel party, Vladimir Bidenov, was found unconscious following an apparent heart attack at the same hotel.⁵

Sources: ¹OHCHR, ²Guardian (a), ³UKRINFORM, ⁴CNN and ⁵Guardian (b).

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by PBS NewsHour. This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after an election a 'coup'. This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by National Security Archive. NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.