Ukrainian war casualties: 8 thousand people killed since April 2014.
At least 7962 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine since mid-April 2014 according to the Report by Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
As reported, in total, since the beginning of the hostilities in mid-April 2014 until 15 May 2015, at least 6,362 people (including at least 625 women and girls) were documented as killed and 15,775 as wounded in the conflict area of eastern Ukraine. Many people remain missing; bodies continue to be recovered.
Serious human rights abuses, intimidation and harassment of the local population perpetrated by the armed groups continued to be reported. "The shelling of settlements on both sides of the contact line led to a disturbing increase in civilian casualties in the past three months. It is necessary to take additional measures to protect civilians and full cessation of hostilities in accordance with the February cease-fire agreement," - said Zeid.
Zeid said that heavy weapons have not been fully withdrawn.
The entry into force of a ceasefire as of 15 February 2015 which was part of the Package of Measures for the Implementation of Minsk Agreements of 12 February led to a considerable decrease in the intensity and geographic scope of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, except for the vicinity of the town of Debaltseve (Donetsk region), where several thousand Ukrainian armed forces remained under sustained attack by the armed groups. On 18 February, Ukrainian units were ordered to withdraw from the Debaltseve area. On 17 March, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted a resolution on the approval of an application to the United Nations Security Council and the Council of the European Union about deployment of the international peacekeeping and security operation to Ukraine.
"The concern is also that the Russian Federation continues to send convoys of white trucks without full consent or inspection by Ukraine, their precise destination and content cannot be reliably tested" - noted in the document.