KYIV, Ukraine, July 10, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Russia's escalation of drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities led to a three-year high in the number of civilians killed or wounded in June, the United Nations said Thursday.

"Civilians across Ukraine are facing levels of suffering we have not seen in over three years," said Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

The UN verified at least 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded during the month -- the highest combined toll since April 2022.

Russia had launched a record number of drone and missile attacks at Ukraine over the month, AFP analysis of data published by Kyiv's air force showed, as peace talks between the two sides failed to yield a breakthrough.

Several civilians in the capital Kyiv -- where deadly attacks used to be rare -- have been killed in overnight barrages over the last month.

"The surge in long-range missile and drone strikes across the country has brought even more death and destruction to civilians far away from the frontline," the UN's Bell added in the report.

There is no reliable figure as to the total number of civilians killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

The UN has verified more than 13,500 civilian deaths, but says the "actual extent of civilian harm ... is likely considerably higher" as it is impossible to verify many cases and there is no access to areas that have come under Russian occupation.

Those places include the port city of Mariupol, where thousands are estimated to have been killed during a weeks-long siege by Russian forces at the start of the war.

The city was virtually destroyed by Russian attacks and has been under Moscow's control since mid-2022.