?LIVE: War enters 500th day, UN counts more than 9,000 civilian deaths

4:31am: UN slams civilian toll as Russia’s war in Ukraine reaches day 500

The United Nations condemned the civilian cost inflicted by Russia’s war in Ukraine as the fighting passed the 500-day mark with no end to the conflict in sight.

More than 9,000 civilians, including 500 children, have been killed since Russia’s February 24, 2022 invasion, the UN’s Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said in a statement on Friday, though UN representatives have previously said the real count is likely to be much higher.

“Today we mark another grim milestone in the war that continues to exact a horrific toll on Ukraine’s civilians,” Noel Calhoun, the deputy head of HRMMU, said in the statement marking the 500th day since the invasion.

Key developments from Thursday, July 7:

The United States announced that it will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine for the first time as Kyiv’s forces push ahead with a counteroffensive against Russian forces.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “we are moving Ukraine closer to NATO, the final decisions are still to be negotiated and agreed by allies.” He added that he expected important decisions to be made during the NATO summit in Vilnius next week.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday described the deals allowing the safe Black Sea export of food and fertilizer from Ukrainian ports and facilitating Russia’s own such exports as playing an “indispensable role” in global food security.

Read yesterday’s live blog to see how all the day’s events unfolded.

Read more analysis on the war in Ukraine (C) France M?dias Monde graphic studio

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)