The monthly total reached a three-year high, surpassing June’s numbers, with HRMMU confirming civilian casualties in 18 of Ukraine’s 24 regions.
“For the second consecutive month, civilian casualties in Ukraine have reached a new three-year record,” stated Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU.
“Only the first three months following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine saw more deaths and injuries than last month,” she added.
Numbers for the first seven months of 2025 were 48 percent higher than the same period last year. Long-range weapons, including missiles and suicide drones, caused nearly 40 percent of casualties. On July 31, Kyiv experienced its deadliest attack since the invasion began, with 31 people, including five children, dying when a missile hit a residential building.
Short-range drones alone were responsible for 24 percent of casualties, showing a significant increase since mid-2024, as noted in a bulletin published by HRMMU in June 2025.
The largest monthly increase resulted from aerial bombs, which killed 67 and injured 209 in July, compared to 114 casualties in June. Strikes hit a penal colony in Zaporizhzhia and an apartment building in Donetsk, killing at least 21 people total.
“Whether in a hospital, prison, home, or workplace, near or far from the frontline, if you’re in Ukraine today, you risk being killed or injured by the war,” Ms. Bell said.
A UN-chartered helicopter delivering food aid to Solle in northwest Burkina Faso was involved in an explosion shortly after landing on Tuesday, injuring two people.
The helicopter, chartered by the World Food Programme (WFP), had just unloaded supplies when the blast occurred nearby. A crew member and a Government partner were injured and are receiving medical care.
The helicopter suffered minor damage and was moved to safety, WFP said. Flights to Solle have been temporarily stopped while authorities look into the incident.
In conflict-affected regions of Burkina Faso, WFP’s humanitarian air operations are essential for providing life-saving assistance to hard-to-reach communities most in need.
WFP aims to assist 315,000 vulnerable people during the lean season from June to August, when families have depleted their food resources.
In a statement, WFP reaffirmed its “unwavering commitment to support populations in need and to reach remote communities with humanitarian assistance.”
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) expressed serious concern on Wednesday about repeated bail denials in Uganda for opposition leader Kizza Besigye and his colleague Obeid Lutale.
Both individuals have been denied bail three times since being abducted in Kenya and returned to Uganda last November.
The High Court dismissed their latest request, finding them ineligible for mandatory bail because they had been detained for less than the required 180 days, not accounting for their prior deprivation of liberty following abduction and return.
“We urge authorities to reconsider the decision and grant them bail, ensuring legal proceedings align with international human rights law,” said OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell.
The UN human rights office in Uganda closed its operations in 2023 after the Government ended cooperation with OHCHR.
At the time, High Commissioner Volker Türk expressed concern about the upcoming 2026 elections amid a hostile environment affecting human rights defenders, civil society, and journalists.
Other UN human rights mechanisms condemned laws criminalizing same-sex relations and advocating the death penalty for offenders.
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