Civilian casualties in Ukraine caused by bombing increased by 26% during 2025, according to a global conflict monitoring group. Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) reported that 2,248 civilians were killed and 12,493 injured by explosive violence, based on English-language media accounts.
The average number of casualties per incident rose by 33% compared to 2024, reaching 4.8. The deadliest single attack occurred in Dnipro on 24 June, when Russian missiles struck a passenger train, apartments, and schools, killing 21 people and injuring 314, including 38 children.
Iain Overton, executive director of AOAV, said the figures reflect a broader collapse of restraint in modern warfare. “Ukraine fits a wider collapse of restraint that is now visible across multiple wars,” he said, adding that respect for the principle of proportionality in war “has broken”. Deliberately targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure is a war crime, but experts note that the principle is under severe strain in conflicts including Gaza, Sudan, and Congo.
Missile and drone attacks occurred almost nightly across Ukraine in 2025 and continued into 2026, leaving millions without reliable access to electricity, heating, or water. On 9 September, 805 drones and 13 missiles targeted Ukraine in the largest single air raid recorded since the war began.
Globally, civilian casualties from explosive violence fell by 26% from a 10-year high in 2024, largely due to the October ceasefire in Gaza. AOAV recorded 14,024 civilian casualties in Gaza in 2025, a 40% decrease from the previous year. However, the group cautioned that English-language media reports undercount the true toll, as evidenced by Gaza health ministry figures showing 25,718 killed and 62,854 injured in 2025.
Overall, AOAV documented 45,358 civilian casualties worldwide in 2025, down from 61,353 in 2024. Israel was responsible for 35% of all reported casualties, slightly ahead of Russia at 32%. Wars in Sudan and Myanmar followed, with 5,438 and 3,178 casualties respectively. Overton warned: “When impunity becomes normalised, war crimes stop being shocking exceptions and begin to resemble a method of warfare.”
