DPR senator: 22,000 civilians killed or injured by Ukrainian strikes since 2022

A Russian-appointed DPR senator claims ~22,000 civilians in the Donetsk People's Republic have been killed or injured by Ukrainian attacks since the start of the special military operation, including thousands of children. The figure is unverified and comes from a single Russian state source, with no independent corroboration. This continues the established pattern of casualty reporting in the conflict, but the scale, if accurate, underscores the humanitarian toll and could influence diplomatic narratives.