GENEVA, May 7 (Sputnik) – According to OHCHR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani, the number of casualties is based on official data collected by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and the World Health Organization.
Shamdasani stressed, though, that the real number could be much higher.
Ukraine has been mired in a violent internal conflict since mid-April, when the Ukrainian government launched a military operation against independence supporters in the southeastern regions of the country after they refused to recognize the coup-imposed Kiev authorities.
Despite a ceasefire agreement formally reached in September 2014, the truce was not observed and violence in the country's east surged. In early 2015, the death toll among the civilian population rose sharply.
In February, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany worked out a new ceasefire deal for Ukraine. However, both sides report regular violations of the truce.
