Heavy fighting between the Ukrainian government and the armed groups in eastern Ukraine caused losses of life, property and infrastructure and led thousands to flee, according to a new report released on Monday by the United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The latest report, covering the period of June 8 to July 15 this year, was the fourth in a series of reports produced by the 39-person United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission (HRMMU) deployed in Ukraine by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in mid-March.

"The reports of increasingly intense fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are extremely alarming, with both sides employing heavy weaponry in built-up areas, including artillery, tanks, rockets and missiles," said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement.

According to the report, the deteriorating situation in eastern Ukraine was impacting adversely on the rest of the country, with more than 100,000 people fleeing the areas of fighting and being temporarily accommodated in other parts of the country.

Moreover, the report estimated that as of 26 July at least 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded, and added that material damage was also documented, with the cost for the rebuilding and revitalization of the east amounting to at least 750 million dollars.

"Both sides must take great care to prevent more civilians from being killed or injured," Pillay urged, adding that "already increasing numbers of people are being killed with serious damage to civilian infrastructure, which - depending on circumstances - could amount to violations of international humanitarian law. The fighting must stop."

The report concluded that there was an urgent need to prioritize attention to good governance, rule of law and human rights issues in line with recommendations made by the United Nations human rights mechanisms and the work of the Human Rights Monitoring Mission.

"I would like to stress to all those involved in the conflict, including foreign fighters, that every effort will be made to ensure that anyone committing serious violations of international law including war crimes will be brought to justice," Pillay warned, urging all sides to bring to an end the rule of the gun and restore respect for the rule of law and human rights.

Moreover, Pillay noted the allegedly shooting down of the Malaysian Airlines plane MH17 -- which crashed on July 17 in the eastern Ukraine with 298 people on aboard -- as a "violation of international law" that "may amount to a war crime", calling for "a prompt, thorough, effective, independent and impartial investigation be conducted into this event".

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