Russia and Ukraine have different versions of how many died in the conflict. The BBC analyzed the data.
A Russian airstrike on a building in the city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk region killed four people who were staying there.
In nearby Severodonetsk, two more people died after a day of Russian bombardment.
Another person was killed when Ukrainian forces bombarded the outskirts of Donetsk city.
Four more people were killed when Russia opened fire on the city of Sadivska in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine.
Who died in these attacks? all in just one day in june? believed to be civilian.
According to BBC News’ Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (Acled), it accounts for more than a third of the deaths recorded in Ukraine since 24 February? A US-based non-profit group that records political violence.
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Experts say the total number of deaths recorded is likely to be underestimated and the actual number should be much higher.
Ukraine and Russia claim the death toll in the tens of thousands, but their claims contradict each other and there is no way to independently verify them.
When trying to calculate the human cost of war, it is necessary to look at a number of sources, including the United Nations (UN), national governments, and independent monitoring efforts.
Where are people dying?
This map shows where deaths were reported during the war up to mid-June.
The southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, along the Russian border, where the land invasion began, suffered the most violence.
Data is from Acled, which counts individual incidents of violence such as gunfights or airstrikes and their locations. The data has been verified by local media and partner organisations, meaning the number of reported deaths is lower than other sources.
Reported deaths where location was recorded
From February 24 to June 24. The size of the circles represents the number of deaths. The counter shows the cumulative total of deaths. Source: AcleD
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
Acled has recorded a total of more than 10,000 deaths in Ukraine since the start of the conflict.
Mariupol (southeast), Kharkiv (northeast) and Bilohorivka (east) recorded the highest death numbers.
How many civilians died?
Based on data from Acled, the BBC identified around 3,600 civilian deaths as of mid-June. As of the end of June, the UN confirmed that approximately 4,700 people had been killed during the conflict.
Both claim their numbers must be far below the truth due to difficulties in verifying war information.
The UN tries to verify every death using police, hospital or civilian records.
But does Acled’s data only contain data associated with a specific confirmed event? and excludes people who die from other causes, such as starvation or lack of medical care.
This is important in places that have been under siege for a long time, such as Mariupol, where many civilians are stranded in the city.
“In total, we estimate [além das mortes confirmadas] Matilda Bogner, head of the UN’s Human Rights Watch Mission to Ukraine, said at least 3,000 civilians died in besieged cities due to their lack of medical care and the strain on their health amid hostilities.
How are civilians killed?
Bombing and air strikes are the main cause of civilian deaths in Ukraine, according to analysis by both the UN and the BBC.
However, around 1,000 civilians were killed in close range attacks, according to data from Acled. many during the siege of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
Under the Geneva Convention and other international agreements, deliberately attacking civilians or infrastructure vital to their survival is a war crime.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General accuses Russia of committing thousands of war crimes, including direct attacks on civilians, during the conflict.
Russia denies all allegations.
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How many soldiers died?
Gavin Crowden of the independent organization Every Victim Matters, which counts deaths in conflict, says the number of military casualties is sensitive information because it forms the narrative of who won the war.
“Both sides are very aware of that,” he says.
Ukraine has not released any official statistics on soldiers killed during the war.
But in early June, a Ukrainian presidential adviser told the BBC that between 100 and 200 Ukrainian soldiers were killed every day in the Donbas region.
In April, Russia said it had killed about 23,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
Russia rarely discloses its own military losses.
The latest death toll was on March 25, with 1,351 Russian soldiers reported dead since the start of the invasion.
In April, the UK government reported that approximately 15,000 Russian soldiers were killed.
Does Ukraine often publish figures on Russian military deaths? and claims about 35,000 Russians dead by the end of June.
None of these data could be verified. The UN does not find the figures released by those involved in the conflict reliable.
However, the deaths of at least 4,010 Russian soldiers were individually confirmed by BBC News Russian (the BBC’s Russian news service), which records the names of soldiers who have died since the start of the war.
Of those identified, 685 were officers and four were generals. Most of the dead were of lower rank such as corporal and sergeant.
The names of these soldiers, whose bodies were returned to Russia, were identified in the state press, social media, official reports of local authorities or in interviews with people who knew them.
The number of soldiers whose bodies remained in Ukraine or whose identity has not yet been determined is unknown.
“War takes the lives of dozens of civilians and combatants every day,” says Bogner. “If human lives matter, these numbers speak for themselves.”
* Collaborated with Jana Tauschinski, Libby Rogers and Kateryna Khinkulova.
– Originally published text https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-62034340
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source: Noticias
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