UN has recorded more than 33,000 deaths and injuries in the Donbas during the conflict
The UN has recorded more than 33 thousand instances of injuries and deaths over the course of fighting in the Donbas. Fiona Fraser, the Deputy Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, announced the figure at a briefing, reports “112 Ukraine”.
She noted that during the past three months, two peaks of escalation were recorded: November - December 2016, and end of January - early February 2017.
"Between November 16, 2016 and February 15, 2017, we recorded 130 conflict-related casualties among civilians. This includes 23 deaths and 107 injuries. 65% of these deaths and injuries were caused by shelling. While the number of casualties is lower than that of the previous period, it is much larger than the number during this period last year," Fraser said.
She added that the parties to the conflict should do more to protect civilians, stop shelling and remove heavy weapons.
In total during the conflict, more than 33,146 deaths and casualties have been recorded between civilians, Ukrainian soldiers, and militants.
According to the UN estimates, 20 people have been killed and 91 wounded during the conflict in the Donbas since the beginning of the year.