U.N. reports at least 536 civilian casualties in Ukraine

[March 01, 2022]    BERLIN (Reuters) - At least 136 civilians have been killed, including 13 children, and 400 have been injured since Russia invaded Ukraine last week, a United Nations agency said on Tuesday.

Rescuers are seen in a building, which city officials said was damaged by a missile, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released March 1, 2022. Press service of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service/Handout via REUTERS

"The real toll is likely to be much higher," Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office (OHCHR), told a briefing, adding that 253 of the casualties were in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine.

The U.N. World Food Programme is scaling up activities in Ukraine so that it can support up to 3.1 million people, WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri said, adding: "Food supplies are running low."

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Paul Carrel)

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