At least 274 civilians were killed and another 1,763 wounded in Ukraine in May 2026, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission.
The combined number of civilians killed and wounded was the highest recorded in a single month since April 2022. Civilian casualties rose by 93% compared with May 2025 and by 23% compared with April 2026.
Long-range weapons, including missiles and drones, were the leading cause of casualties. According to the UN, they killed 115 civilians and wounded 803. Most of those casualties were recorded in cities far from the front line, including Kyiv and Dnipro.
Near the front line, short-range drones accounted for a significant share of civilian deaths and injuries. In May, such drones caused more civilian casualties than in any other month since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
The vast majority of casualties documented by the UN occurred in territory controlled by the Ukrainian government.