The figures are conservative, said Gianni Magazzeni, a senior United Nations human rights official, adding that the real toll is most likely significantly higher. “There remain a large number of unidentified bodies in morgues,” he said, especially in areas controlled by armed groups.

More than half the casualties in the latest reporting period were attributed to land mines and improvised explosive devices, “underscoring the urgent need for extensive mine clearance and mine awareness actions on both sides” of the contact line separating Ukraine government security forces from rebel groups controlling areas around the eastern towns of Donetsk and Luhansk, the monitors found.

However, the lack of government control of Ukraine’s eastern border allowed the continuing movement of weapons, ammunition and fighters from Russia, which “carries latent risks of a resurgence of hostilities.,” they reported.