1,462 civilians were killed and 10,666 injured between May and July this year, according to statistics from the independent analysis group Conflict Intelligence Team, CIT. The figures apply to civilians on both sides of the front line, but 70 percent are in territories controlled by Ukraine, writes the exiled Russian news channel Mozhem objasnit (“We can explain”).
During the summer, Russia has sent missiles and drones against Ukraine many times, causing a large number of deaths and injuries.
Drone on the beach
Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks on Russian targets are causing increasing civilian casualties. This week, several people were killed when a drone crashed on a beach in the Russian resort of Gelendzhik. Video footage of the incident shows gunfire, suggesting Russia may have tried to shoot down the drone.
There are several potential military targets in the area, but it cannot be completely ruled out that Ukraine deliberately attacked the beach, writes BBC analyst Vitaly Shevchenko in a commentary. He adds that Ukraine would have little to gain from such an action.
“This also shows how dangerous and deadly these drones are, no matter how far from the front line people are,” writes Shevchenko.
At the same time, Ukraine's attacks on Russian e-commerce warehouses and oil facilities have made the war more tangible for ordinary Russians. Not least, there have been many reports of long lines at gas stations.
Want to escalate
There is hope that by targeting the Russian economy, pressure will increase on political decision-makers from both individual Russian citizens and businessmen. The question is whether it will work that way, says Ilmari Käihkö, associate professor of military science and former member of the Finnish Defence University.
According to Käihkö, voices are being raised in Russia that want to escalate the war further.
This week, Ukrainian authorities ordered the evacuation of hundreds of families with children from the city of Kramatorsk and nearby areas, due to the risk of new Russian attacks.
Ilmari Käihkö does not believe that support for Ukraine in the West would decrease significantly, even if the number of civilian casualties in Russia increases.
"As long as Ukraine is not deliberately trying to cause civilian casualties on the Russian side, I don't think we would react. We accept that things happen in war, it's inevitable," he says.
July: 634 dead and 4,590 injured. June: 451 dead and 3,293 injured. May: 377 dead and 2,783 injured.
Source: CIT
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has reported a 37 percent increase in civilian deaths and injuries in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year. Most of the verified cases are in areas under Ukrainian control.
Source: HRMMU
