The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported that April was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since September 2024, with at least 209 killed and 1,146 injured.

In its monthly update, the monitoring mission said that 97% of the casualties occurred in Ukrainian-controlled areas, nearly half of which were caused by missile and cruise missile attacks by Russian forces. Children were particularly affected, with at least 19 children killed and 78 injured in April, the highest monthly total since June 2022.

The main reason for the sharp increase in casualties is the intensified use of ballistic missiles in major cities. For example, on April 4, a ballistic missile attack on Krivelikh killed 20 civilians and injured at least 63 people; on April 13, during Easter, the city of Sumy was attacked by missiles, killing at least 31 civilians and injuring 105 people; on April 18, a missile attack on the city of Kharkiv killed one civilian and injured at least 102 people; on April 24, the city of Kiev was attacked by missiles and cruise missiles, killing at least 11 civilians and injuring 81 people.