At least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 injured in Ukraine in September, the highest toll for that month since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said in an update published on October 15.

The September figure was 85% higher than in September 2025, when the mission verified 249 civilians killed and 1,068 injured. From January to September 2026, HRMMU verified 2,570 civilians killed and 15,211 injured, 59% more than in the same period of 2025 and more than twice the total for the same months of 2024.

Long-range weapons, meaning missiles and drones, remained the leading cause of civilian casualties in September, accounting for 53% of the total (165 killed and 1,119 injured), according to the monthly update. Short-range drones were second, at 23% (87 killed and 475 injured), followed by aerial bombs, artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and mines and explosive remnants of war.

Casualties were recorded in 22 regions of Ukraine and in the city of Kyiv. The capital had the highest number, with 32 civilians killed and 340 injured, and civilians there were killed or injured on 22 of the month’s 30 days, more often than in any previous month of the full-scale invasion, the mission said. Kherson, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia were also heavily affected. Among the incidents HRMMU listed, a missile and drone attack on Kyiv on September 1 killed nine civilians, including seven railway workers, and an attack involving jet-powered drones on residential areas of the city on September 25 killed seven and injured 64.

The verified figures include 18 civilians killed and 44 injured in territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia. According to public statements by Russian authorities on individual incidents in September, at least 87 people were killed and 436 injured in occupied territory and at least 53 killed and 462 injured in the Russian Federation, the mission said, adding that it had been unable to verify the vast majority of those allegations because of a lack of access and independent sources.

Attacks on energy infrastructure

HRMMU said Russian armed forces resumed large-scale coordinated attacks on electricity and heating infrastructure across Ukraine in September, and that attacks on September 30 damaged generation, distribution and transmission facilities in three regions and Kyiv, causing emergency power outages. Ukrainian armed forces attacked electricity infrastructure in territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia, the mission said, and UN News reported that the mission also cited Ukrainian strikes on electricity and heating infrastructure in the Russian Federation.

The pattern continued into October, UN News reported. On the night of October 6 to 7, a Russian cruise missile and drone attack killed 22 civilians and injured 45 in Pryluky, in Chernihiv region. On October 13 and 14, strikes hit multiple energy facilities, including Kyiv’s three main power stations, temporarily leaving 600,000 people in the capital without electricity, according to Ukrainian authorities.

“The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years,” said Danielle Bell, head of the mission. “Systematically attacking electricity and heating infrastructure as winter approaches is bound to inflict significant suffering on the civilian population,” she said.

Why it matters

The figures show civilian harm in 2026 running well above the levels of the previous two years. Since February 24, 2022, HRMMU has verified 17,605 civilians killed and 55,846 injured, according to cumulative figures in its September update. The mission says the actual numbers are likely considerably higher.

The approach of winter adds to the pressure on people living near the front line. The UN migration agency, IOM, warned that damaged homes and attacks on energy risk forcing Ukrainians who have returned home to flee again. Some 1.45 million returnees live in frontline districts, and during the last cold season only 32% of households could heat their homes adequately, UN News reported, citing the agency. “For millions of Ukrainians, the challenge is no longer simply whether they can return home. It is whether they can remain there safely and right now the conditions are making it difficult,” said Arthur Erken, IOM regional director for Europe and Central Asia. He said less than 7% of IOM’s crisis response plan for Ukraine this year had been funded.

What to watch

An eighth localized ceasefire brokered between Ukraine and Russia by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began on October 15 to allow repairs to a damaged backup transformer at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, UN News reported. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi welcomed the cooperation of both sides but warned that diesel fuel at the plant was running low, with no deliveries since March. “It is essential that steps are taken to increase the volume of diesel fuel available on-site prior to winter, when the situation may become acute,” he said.

The caveats

HRMMU counts only casualties that meet its “reasonable grounds to believe” standard, and it says figures may be revised as cases are corroborated. Casualty figures from Russian authorities cited above were not verified by the mission. Neither the HRMMU update nor the UN News report included a response from the Russian or Ukrainian governments.

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