Almost 1,000 people have been killed in Ukraine since a ceasefire came into effect in September, an average of 13 people a day, the United Nations said today, as the conflict in the east drags on.
As the report was published, international monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in the former Soviet state said one of their teams had been shot at by a man in uniform.
While the OSCE described yesterday's incident as "isolated", it highlights continuing high tensions in eastern Ukraine, where government forces and pro-Russian rebels are fighting a drawn-out battle for territory.
The Kremlin denies Western and Ukrainian accusations that it is backing the separatist rebels with troops and military equipment but diplomatic relations have plunged to a low not seen since the Cold War over the seven-month conflict.
US Vice President Joe Biden was due in Kiev later today ahead of tomorrow's anniversary of the start of the Maidan protests against the former pro-Kremlin regime which eventually led to the conflict in the east.
The report from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine put the number of dead at 957 from September 5, when the ceasefire was signed, to November 18.
"The list of victims keeps growing. Civilians, including women, children, minorities and a range of vulnerable individuals and groups continue to suffer the consequences of the political stalemate in Ukraine," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement.
Counting the 298 people who died in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in July, the overall toll since mid-April, when fighting started, stood at 4,317 deaths as of Tuesday.
The report also detailed grave human rights abuses on both sides.
One Ukrainian soldier said his right arm, bearing a "Glory to Ukraine" tattoo, had been chopped off with an axe by rebels.
A separatist detained by Ukrainian forces in Donetsk said he had been suffocated with a plastic bag and repeatedly beaten.
