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More than 2,600 civilians killed, 5,500 others wounded in Donbass over past 8 years - IC

Those numbers reflect casualties on both sides and from all causes, for a period of eight years. Let's look at the numbers more closely, as given by a report from the United Nations (2022) The total number of civilian deaths, by year, from 2014 to 2021:

2014: 2084
2015: 955
2016: 112
2017: 117
2018: 58
2019: 27
2020: 26
2021: 25

So 2/3 of the deaths occurred at the outbreak of the conflict in 2014, with 98% occurring in the first two years. Since then, the numbers of deaths has come down drastically. In 2020 and 2021 — the only years included in the report that I referenced — the majority of casualties were caused by mines, unexploded munitions, and other causes other than artillery and small-arms. Of those caused by active hostilities, the report does not distinguish between artillery and small-arms fire. It should also be pointed out that some of the casualties were caused by the Russians.

None of this suggests that there was a deliberate targeting of the civilian population rather than unintended collateral damage. Russian propagandists, however, use this to justify an invasion that has so far claimed 21,793 civilian casualties (8,173 killed and 13,620 injured) in one year alone. The UN believes that the actual number are considerably higher, with particular concern for Mariupol, Lysychansk, Popasna, and Sieverdonetsk. The Russians have destroyed whole cities. Where is any sense of proportionality?