UN raises Ukraine death toll estimate to 9,333

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Taye-Brook Zerihoun told the UN Security Council that the total number of casualties now stands at 30,729, including 9,333 people killed and 21,396 injured. He said the latest incident occurred on April 27, when shelling killed at least four civilians and injured at least eight people in Olenivka near the city of Donetsk. Zerihoun said that fighting has escalated in recent weeks to levels not seen since August 2014, when it was at its most intense. He called on all parties to cease hostilities. He criticized both sides for hindering access to an international monitoring mission put in place under the February 2015 cease-fire agreement between Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany. But he said that restrictions on monitors were more common in areas held by Russia-backed separatists.