Go to mediabankLocal resident shows fragments of large-caliber shells. File photoUN, Oct 25The number of victims of the conflict in Ukraine among the civilian population has exceeded 16 thousand people, the official representative of the UN Secretary General Stephane Dujarric said at a briefing. , — Dujarric told reporters. According to him, 61% of them died «in the East of Ukraine in the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.» He added that these data were provided by the UN humanitarian mission in Ukraine. The representative of the UN Secretary General also said that more than 1 million people in Ukraine are in need of temporary housing and shelter in more than 5.6 thousand settlements of Ukraine. He stressed the urgent need for humanitarian assistance, especially blankets, warm clothes, portable cooking and heating devices, and solid fuel. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on 24 February. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The ultimate goal of the operation, according to the supreme commander-in-chief, is «the liberation of Donbass and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself.» special operations are moving further and further away from the current line.
