Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has confirmed at least 274 civilians were killed and 1,763 injured in May 2026, a 93% rise from May 2025 and a 23% increase compared to April 2026. These over 2,000 civilian casualties represent the highest monthly total since April 2022, according to HRMMU head Danielle Bell.
Investigators attributed most civilian harm to attacks on urban areas using powerful weapons, especially long-range missiles and drones, which caused 45% of casualties. Many attacks occurred far from the frontline, including an aerial bomb on an industrial area in Zaporizhzhia on 5 May that killed 12 civilians and wounded 42, and a missile strike on a Kyiv apartment building on 14 May resulting in 24 civilian deaths and at least seven injuries.
While men were the majority of victims, women and children were also impacted, such as an elderly woman in Chernihiv who required a leg amputation after a missile attack. The HRMMU noted that casualty numbers have typically risen in spring and summer, but 2026’s toll is significantly higher than previous years.
Most casualties occurred in Ukrainian government-controlled areas across 20 regions and Kyiv, but some were also verified in Russian-occupied territories. For example, an attack on an educational complex in occupied Starobilsk, Luhansk, on the night of 21-22 May killed 21 civilians and injured several others.
Short-range drone attacks near the frontline resulted in at least 64 deaths and 539 injuries in May, marking the highest monthly civilian toll from such weapons since the full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022.