Ukraine War Sees Highest Civilian Casualties Since April 2022 in June
Civilian casualties in the Ukraine war reached their highest level since April 2022 in June, with ongoing Russian strikes killing and injuring people including in Odesa, while Ukrainian officials appeal for more Patriot interceptors and highlight shelter deficiencies after a deadly Kyiv attack.
Rising Civilian Toll from Russian Strikes
A 15 July Russian missile strike on an Odesa apartment block killed Halyna's 20-year-old son Oleksandr and a colleague while they repaired a roof under the Restore Your Home programme; Halyna was injured and searched desperately for her son. [2] An aid worker provided psychological assistance to Halyna, who was injured and in shock after the strike. [2] Halyna and her two children, Oleksandr and 15-year-old daughter Olena, had recently moved to Odesa from the front-line Dnipro region for a temporary job opportunity and greater safety. [2] The Restore Your Home programme helps residents repair homes damaged by attacks. [2] Rescuers searched for people who might still be under the rubble while the emergency team of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society provided first aid to the wounded. [2] An injured Halyna managed to pull herself from beneath the rubble and was taken to the hospital for treatment before returning to the site as soon as possible, desperately searching for her son. [2] She kept repeating the last word she had heard him say: "Mom...". [2] The sad news arrived in the afternoon that Oleksandr and another colleague had been killed in the attack. [2] Three days later, a strike on a seaside recreational area near the port of Chornomorsk killed a 16-year-old boy and injured more civilians. [2] In June, civilian casualties in Ukraine reached their highest level since April 2022, according to the latest report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. [2] In the first six months of 2026, civilian casualties were 37 per cent higher than the number recorded in the same period in 2025 and 114 per cent higher than in the same period in 2024. [2] Humanitarian organizations continue to provide emergency assistance, protection services and psychosocial support to help people cope with loss, trauma and devastation. [2]
Zelenskyy Renews Call for Patriot Missiles
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for more US-made Patriot interceptors after a Russian missile and drone barrage on Kyiv killed at least 10 and injured dozens. [3] "The world has Patriot missiles. What matters now is for our partners to make the political decision to provide the necessary packages. The United States knows what we need. Europe knows what we need," Zelenskyy said in a video message shared on X. [3] "Anti-ballistic missiles must protect people – not sit in stockpiles," he added. [3] Zelenskyy's appeal came as a former Ukrainian government official told Fox News Digital that Ukraine's civilian protection crisis extends far beyond air defenses, describing "scandalous situations" amid a widening bomb shelter probe that has allegedly exposed deficiencies despite billions spent on construction and repairs. [3] "It's not possible to keep begging for missiles all the time. This is not how one protects the population," ex-Ukrainian government spokesperson Luliia Mendel said. [3] "Zelenskyy is shifting responsibility onto the United States and Western partners for the lack of protection inside Ukraine." [3] Ukrainians have been saying they are drawing their "anti-drone curtains" and closing their "anti-missile windows" simply to illustrate that their survival depends more on luck than on systematic protection from the state. [3] "Scandalous situations keep arising," she said, "where people have no chance to take cover." [3] "Many still lack shelters close enough to reach quickly every time danger strikes," Mendel added. [3] Ukraine and Finland launched the Civil Protection Shelter Coalition in May 2025 to help implement Ukraine's civil defense strategy through 2034. [3] At the coalition's inaugural meeting on Nov. 27, members pledged more than 22 million euros (about $25 million at the time) to support bomb shelter construction and modernization. [3] Zelenskyy told Axios on July 29 that he had asked Trump for an emergency shipment of about 300 Patriot interceptors ahead of winter, saying Ukraine "needed the Patriots yesterday" and warning that producing them domestically could take one to five years. [3] "I'm not sure that 300 Patriot missiles would be helpful," Mendel said. [3] "Russia has also intensified its use of guided aerial bombs across the front-line regions, from northern Sumy to southern Kherson, expanding its fire control. No missile system can stop that." [3] Mendel warned that without a comprehensive overhaul of Ukraine’s civilian defense system, the country faces an increasingly dire humanitarian situation. [3] "Zelenskyy and his government are already warning that the winter will be even harsher than the last one, preparing the public for a humanitarian catastrophe," Mendel said. [3] "But Ukraine has not designed a system that would be able to protect its population. Zelenskyy will continue demanding more support and missiles while shifting responsibility." [3]
Halyna receives psychological support from an aid worker after a Russian missile strike killed her son in Odesa. — Source: ocha
Bomb Shelter Deficiencies Exposed
Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner reported deficiencies in 93% of 1,066 inspected bomb shelters; a nationwide probe follows reports of civilians unable to access shelters during attacks. [3] Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said in June that his office inspected 1,066 bomb shelters nationwide and found deficiencies in 93% of them, according to The Ukrainian Week. [3] Some were locked, flooded or otherwise unusable, while others were inaccessible to people with disabilities, the outlet reported. [3] Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi ordered a nationwide inspection of civil defense shelters on July 30 after a major Russian missile attack, following reports that some civilians were unable to access shelters during the assault. [3] Kyiv has spent billions of hryvnias on bomb shelters since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. [3] Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city allocated more than 1.1 billion hryvnias (about $26 million) for shelter repairs in 2026, after spending roughly 7 billion hryvnias from 2022 through 2025. [3] On July 10, he ordered an audit of how district administrations used those funds. [3] Some people have been sheltering in bathrooms or corridors, offering little to no protection from a direct hit. [3] Others relocate to basements, risking being buried under rubble, Reuters reported. [3] One woman said she was denied entry to a shelter because of her dog, while another said she has to rent a hotel room to access its shelter. [3] Many others resort to sleeping in underground parking garages, the outlet reported. [3] "Thousands of shelters fail to meet basic standards, and mandatory evacuations from dozens of villages and towns in the front-line regions are being announced on a regular basis as Russia expands its fire control," Mendel explained. [3] "Ukraine's civilian population is largely unprotected, not solely because of shortages of missiles, but because of the absence of any comprehensive system that would give people reliable places to shelter and the means to survive." [3]
Latvia Expands Medical Support for Wounded Soldiers
Latvia will double its intake of wounded Ukrainian soldiers, transporting them twice monthly for treatment; 985 patients have been treated at Riga East Clinical University Hospital since the full-scale invasion began. [1] Wounded Ukrainian soldiers will now be transported to Latvia twice a month for treatment and rehabilitation. [1] The decision was made based on the experience gained by Latvian medical and rehabilitation institutions in treating casualties from Russia's war against Ukraine. [1] In addition to the existing patient transfer flight, Latvia will introduce a second dedicated flight for patients who, after an initial assessment at the Riga East Clinical University Hospital (RAKUS), will be referred to specialised rehabilitation centres. [1] At the end of July, it received 32 more seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers in its 41st evacuation mission. [1] Since the start of the full-scale war, 985 patients evacuated from Ukraine have received treatment at RAKUS. [1] All patients underwent comprehensive medical assessments at the hospital's Emergency Medicine and Admissions Clinic. [1] Following examinations, patients will be transferred to other medical and rehabilitation facilities across Latvia according to the nature of their injuries. [1] Nine patients are expected to be transferred to the National Rehabilitation Centre Vaivari, four to the Līgatne Rehabilitation Centre, and 19 to the Jaunķemeri Rehabilitation Centre. [1] Treatment at RAKUS involves specialists from a wide range of medical fields, including trauma surgeons, general surgeons, microsurgeons, infectious disease specialists, physicians specialising in physical and rehabilitation medicine, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiologists and laboratory specialists. [1] The patients are transported to RAKUS through a private initiative organised by the founders of the M-Help.com charity project, Arvis Rekets and Mārtiņš Medinieks. [1] Earlier this year, the European Commission announced that it had facilitated the safe evacuation of more than 5,000 patients from Ukraine to hospitals in 22 European countries under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to receive specialised medical care. [1] The Norwegian government has also agreed, at the EU's request, to extend its programme for transporting patients from Ukraine for treatment in hospitals in Norway and elsewhere in Europe until the end of 2027. [1]
Ukrainian rescuers search rubble of Odesa apartment block after Russian missile strike. — Source: foxnews
African Recruits Lured into Russian Forces
More than 3,500 foreign nationals from over 40 countries, many from Africa, have died fighting for Russia, with African POWs describing being lured by false job promises, receiving minimal training and being sent to deadly front lines. [4] More than 3,500 foreign nationals — from more than 40 countries, including Ecuador, Uganda, the US, Vietnam, India, China, Kenya and Sri Lanka — reportedly died fighting for Russia between February 2002 and July 2026, along with 2,304 North Korean soldiers, most of them killed fighting in Russia’s Kursk region after Kyiv launched an incursion there in August 2024. [4] Nato officials say that approximately 24,000 foreign mercenaries from 44 countries are fighting with Russian forces, the majority of whom are believed to come from Africa. [4] TT (37), a farmer from Masvingo, Zimbabwe, was recruited via Facebook by a man calling himself “Mohammed Mohammed” (real name Ivan) with the promise of electrical engineering training in Kenya, a $20,000 signing bonus and a $2,500 monthly salary. [4] Routed through Nairobi — where he secured his Russian visa without ever leaving the airport — and then Istanbul, he arrived in Russia. [4] Within 24 hours, officials opened a bank account for him, took his phone, and had him sign a contract written entirely in Russian. [4] After passing a medical check and undergoing four weeks of military training, including marksmanship and drone defence, he was credited 400,000 roubles — a quarter of his promised bonus, which remains locked inside his Russian bank account. [4] By 10 May, he was at the front. [4] FNN (35) is from Kiambu County, bordering Nairobi’s northern edge. [4] After working as a security guard in Qatar, he was approached by a friend with the possibility of a job offer. [4] “I took my docs to an agency known as Global Face in Nairobi.” [4] After collecting his visa from the agency, he flew from JKIA to St Petersburg via Istanbul on 11 August 2025. [4] After the bank account, SIM card and medical procedures were complete, he signed a contract in Russian that promised a salary of $1,700 per month and a bonus of 700,000 roubles, or $9,000. [4] To date, he has only received the bonus, but not the salary, though all his money is locked in a Russian bank account. [4] KE (35), a marathon runner from Mount Elgon, the longest-held Kenyan POW in Ukrainian hands, trained in Iten. [4]
Humanitarian Needs and Ongoing Support
In the first six months of 2026, humanitarian partners delivered assistance to nearly 1.3 million people affected by strikes across Ukraine as per the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. [2] Their support included medical and psychological assistance, distribution of hot meals and shelter materials, legal assistance and other essential services to help people in the aftermath of attacks. [2] Meanwhile, needs continue to grow as attacks across the country increase. [2] Behind every emergency call, every humanitarian response and every statistic are people enduring profound suffering and loss. [2] Those agonizing hours of uncertainty as Halyna waited for news of her son, repeating the last word she had heard him say: “Mom…” will stay with me forever. [2] There are countless other grief-stricken people across Ukraine, mourning the loss of their loved ones. [2] It is a stark reminder of the devastating human cost of this war and of the urgent need to continue supporting people whose lives have been shattered by violence. [2]
What to watch next: Latvia will introduce a second dedicated flight for patients after initial assessment at Riga East Clinical University Hospital, and the European Commission has facilitated evacuation of more than 5,000 patients from Ukraine to hospitals in 22 European countries.
