Ukraine

Last Updated: 28 November 2013

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2012

At least 1,987 (1,778 killed; 209 injured)

Casualties in 2012

22 (2011: 24)

2012 casualties by outcome

6 killed; 16 injured (2011: 10 killed; 14 injured)

2012 casualties by device type

22 ERW

In 2012, 22 explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties were identified in Ukraine. All casualties were civilians; 16 were adults (six killed; 10 injured) and six were children (all injured).[1] The 2012 total represented a decrease from 2011.[2]

The Monitor has recorded at least 1,987 mine/ERW casualties (1,778 killed; 209 injured) in the Ukraine.[3] The UN has reported that more than 1,500 civilians were killed in Ukraine between 1945 and 1995 in mine/ERW incidents. Another 130 people were killed during clearance operations in the same period.[4] The Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) reported that between 1996 and 2008 there were 229 ERW casualties (100 killed; 129 injured), including 59 children, due to “handling of devices.”[5]

Victim Assistance

The total number of mine/ERW survivors in Ukraine is not known. There were at least 170 ERW survivors between 1996 and the end of 2010. Media reports indicated that tampering with ERW was a significant cause of casualties.[6] Many mine survivors are thought to be veterans of the Soviet Army, injured during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979–1989).

There is no specific victim assistance strategy, and mine/ERW survivors receive the same services as other persons with disabilities or other disabled veterans. The State Committee on Veterans of Ukraine coordinates policy on war veterans.[7]

Disability issues are the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy; the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports; the Ministry of Health; and the Ministry of Education and Science.[8]

On 13 January 2012, several laws on the rights of persons with disabilities were revised to ensure access to public venues and provide support for inclusion in public, educational, cultural, and sporting activities, including a provision for workplace safety. Social inclusion was difficult, and inadequate resources were allocated to assist persons with disabilities.[9]

Ukraine ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 4 February 2010.

 



[1] Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), Protocol V Article 10 Report, Form C, 27 March 2013.

[2] Ibid., 30 March 2011.

[3] The cumulative casualties are calculated using UN data for 1945–1995 (1,500 civilians; 130 deminers killed), Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) data for 1996–2008 (100 killed; 129 injured), and CCW Protocol V Article 10 report data for 2009–2011 (42 killed; 64 injured). See also previous Ukraine Country profiles for 2010 and 2011 at the Monitor, www.the-monitor.org.

[4] ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 1999: Toward a Mine-Free World (New York: Human Rights Watch, April 1999), www.the-monitor.org, accessed 18 September 2013.

[5] Monitor analysis of MES, “Daily Reports,” for calendar year 2008, mns.gov.ua/, accessed 26 September 2013.

[6] The total includes 2009–2010 casualty data and Monitor analysis of MES, “Daily Reports,” from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008, mns.gov.ua/, accessed 26 September 2013.

[7] Ukraine Government Portal, “State Committee on Veterans of Ukraine,” www.kmu.gov.ua, accessed 26 September 2013.

[8] United States (US) Department of State, “2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine,” Washington, DC, 11 March 2010.

[9] US Department of State, “2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine,” Washington, DC, 19 April 2013.