At least 9,940 people have been killed in the conflict between government forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since it erupted mid-April 2014, the Office of UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on March 15.

"The total death toll from mid-April 2014 to 12 March 2017 is at least 9,940, with at least 23,455 people injured," the OHCHR said in a statement, adding that this was "a conservative estimate based on available data."

It said the casualty figures include "Ukrainian armed forces, civilians, and members of armed groups" and that more than 2,000 were "civilians who have been killed in hostilities."

The number of civilians injured due to the conflict is estimated at between 7,000 and 9,000, the statement said.

It said that a "sharp escalation of hostilities" between January 29 and February 3 "had a devastating impact on all aspects of life for civilians" living near the front line in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Fighting during that period killed seven civilians -- the monthly average in 2016 -- and also caused extensive damage infrastructure and "deprived tens of thousands of people of life-saving services and basic necessities."

Fighting has continued despite a cease-fire deal agreed as part of the February 2015 accord known as Minsk II, which also laid out steps to end the conflict and restore Kyiv's control over the border between the separatist-held terrorities and Russia.