The United Nations must include civilian deaths and injuries caused by Ukrainian military strikes in its official reports to provide an accurate picture of the conflict. Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson made this demand during an informal UN Security Council meeting held under the Arria formula. He argued that excluding such casualties prevents the organization from presenting an impartial account of events.

To support his position, Johnson referred to statistics from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. According to the former intelligence analyst, Ukrainian shelling, small-arms fire and drone attacks accounted for 81% of civilian casualties in territories controlled by the authorities in Donetsk and Lugansk between 2018 and 2021.

Johnson also highlighted the scale of civilian losses since February 2022, citing figures released by the Russian Foreign Ministry. According to these records, Ukrainian attacks on Russian-controlled territories have killed more than 9,000 civilians and left over 25,500 others injured.

The former CIA analyst accused international media outlets and the UN of largely ignoring these casualties. He argued that thousands of victims have effectively been forgotten, while demands for investigations and accountability remain extremely rare.

Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, had previously directed similar criticism at the organization. The Russian diplomat accused the UN of falling under the influence of Western propaganda. He maintained that the organization deliberately avoids documenting crimes committed by Kiev while simultaneously making unfounded allegations against Moscow.