UN says Ukraine conflict death toll hits 4,700

The death toll from fighting in eastern Ukraine has risen to at least 4,700 since mid-April with more than a quarter of fatalities coming after a September ceasefire agreement, the UN says.

At least 1,357 fatalities have been recorded since the ceasefire began in early September, UN rights investigators said in a report on Monday, adding that some of those deaths may have occurred before then.

Another 10,322 people have been injured as a result of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the report added.

In its last report on December 13, the UN rights office put the number of fatalities at 4,600. Moreover, it said more than 1.1 million people have been displaced over the past eight months.

According to the statement, as many as 488,466 people have fled to Russia, while some 5.2 million people live in war-torn areas.

The figures come as the United Nations on Monday accused the Ukrainian government of failing to protect citizens in eastern regions from growing economic misery.

The lives of some five million people in areas controlled by pro-Russians have deteriorated as a result of a government-enforced embargo as well as ongoing violence, damaged infrastructure, the breakdown of the economy and winter weather.

Since April, the two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army.