The UN named the main reason for the deaths of civilian Ukrainians in January.

Small-radius drones caused the deaths and injuries of civilians in Ukraine

In January 2025, small-radius drones became the cause of more civilian deaths and injuries than any other type of weapon. This was reported by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

According to the UN, as a result of small-radius drone attacks in January 2025, 38 civilians were killed and another 223 were injured. These drones carried out attacks by dropping explosive devices on civilians, often in cars or public transport.

Mission Head Daniel Bell noted that small-radius drones are currently one of the deadliest threats to civilians in conflict zones.

According to the report, in this attack in January, 95% of the victims were in areas controlled by the Ukrainian government, while 5% were in territories occupied by Russia.

«Most civilian casualties from small-radius drones occurred in government-controlled parts of Kherson, particularly along the Dnieper River. In January, these drones accounted for 70% of all civilian casualties in the region,» the report stated.

It is also worth noting that from February 2022 to November 2024, 12,162 civilians were killed in Ukraine, and 26,919 were injured.

Additionally, by the beginning of July 2024, Russia was illegally holding over 14,000 Ukrainian civilians.