Ukraine: Zaporizhzhia attack marks highest civilian casualties in nearly two years

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia city in Ukraine on Wednesday caused the highest number of civilian casualties in a single incident in almost two years, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country, HRMMU, has reported. 

Thirteen civilians were killed, and 110 injured, when two aerial bombs struck an industrial facility in the southern city.

This marks the largest number of casualties HRMMU has recorded since a residential building in Dnipro city was struck on 14 January 2023, and the deadliest since a supermarket in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, was hit on 9 August 2024. 

Killed leaving work

Monitors visited the site of the Zaporizhzhia attack, documenting the damage and interviewing victims and witnesses. They observed damage to the industrial facility and to buildings, vehicles and the road outside. 

The attack took place in the afternoon when many workers at the facility were leaving at the end of their shift. Many of the victims, both workers at the plant and passersby, were killed or injured in the street or on public transportation.

A rising threat

The HRMMU is underscoring the danger posed to civilians from the use of aerial bombs in populated areas in Ukraine.

Mission chief Danielle Bell said aerial glide bombs have become one of the greatest threats to people in cities along the frontline. 

“They are also one of the main reasons why the number of killed and injured in 2024 increased by 30 per cent compared with 2023,” she added.

Spike in deaths

Latest HRMMU verified data, published on Thursday, reveals that at least 2,064 civilians were killed and 9,089 injured in 2024.

The numbers are up from 2023, when 1,971 people were killed and 6,626 injured – a rise in large part due to Russia’s increased use of aerial glide bombs.

Aerial bombs accounted for 360 of those killed and 1,861 of the injured last year, representing a threefold increase in fatalities and sixfold increase in injuries compared to 2023.

Aerial bomb modifications

The HRMMU explained that the increase in the number of civilian casualties from aerial bombs in 2024 is the result of modifications that allow these weapons to glide instead of falling, thus extending their range to include cities further from the frontline such as Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.

The Mission documented civilian casualties from such glide bombs for the first time in Kharkiv city in early 2024, in Sumy city and region that August, and in Zaporizhzhia city the following month.

Furthermore, since 22 September, aerial glide bombs have killed at least 35 civilians and injured 308 in Zaporizhzhia city, accounting for 78 per cent of casualties there. 

Other significant attacks with aerial glide bombs in the city include one on 6 December 2024, when 10 civilians were killed and 27 injured, including three children, and on 7 November 2024 when nine civilians were killed and 42 injured.

Foreseeable consequences

The HRMMU recalled that under international humanitarian law, an attacking party must take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian harm, and Wednesday’s attack has raised serious concerns in this regard.

“It was entirely foreseeable that using such weapons in a city during the day would result in significant civilian casualties,” said Ms. Bell. “It is hard to see how this attack could be in compliance with the obligation to minimize civilian harm.”