UN says over 1,000 civilians killed in Ukraine

The United Nations Human Rights Office on Thursday said more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine.

The true number, however, is believed to be “considerably higher,” as the U.N. said information can be difficult to obtain and many reports have not been corroborated. 

Between the start of the war on Feb. 24 to midnight on March 23, 1,035 civilians have been killed and 1,650 have been injured, according to the U.N.

Among those killed are 14 girls, 28 boys, 160 women, 214 men, 48 children of unknown sex and 571 adults of unknown sex. 

The U.N. says most of the civilian deaths are from “explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes.”

In the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, the U.N. has recorded 311 civilian deaths and 857 civilians injured. Other regions of Ukraine, including in and around Kyiv, Kherson and Kharkiv, saw 724 civilians killed and 793 injured, according to the U.N.

The U.S. on Wednesday declared Russia was committing war crimes in Ukraine as Moscow’s forces target civilian structures such as hospitals, bomb shelters, schools and residential buildings. 

More than 2.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country while millions more have been displaced inside Ukraine. 

Poland has taken in more than half of the refugees and other neighboring countries such as Romania have also seen thousands flood its border.

The U.S. announced on Thursday it would accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.