Last week in Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia, Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations and targeted the Russian Black Sea fleet in Crimea amid the ongoing Russian military invasion of Ukraine. Along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, ceasefire violations continued to decrease. Meanwhile, the death of Mahsa Amini, rising living costs, and climate grievances continued to spark demonstrations across Europe.
In Ukraine, fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces continued in the eastern and southern regions of the country last week. In the Luhansk region, Ukrainian forces continued their counteroffensive military operations along the Svatove-Kreminna line (ISW, 31 October 2022). Amid the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive operations in southern Ukraine, Russia moved its Kherson regional occupation administration from Kherson to Skadovsk last week (General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 1 November 2022). Additionally, Russian forces started forcibly relocating civilians from occupied parts of the Kherson region to occupied Crimea and Russia (RFE/RL, 3 November 2022).
Meanwhile, on 29 October, Ukrainian forces attacked the Russian naval base in Sevastopol in Crimea with unmanned surface vessels and aerial drones, damaging several Russian warships (Naval News, 30 October 2022). Later that day, Russia suspended its participation in an agreement signed in July that guaranteed the safe passage of commercial ships carrying Ukrainian grain, citing the attack (CNBC, 29 October 2022). After Russia’s withdrawal, Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of violating the agreement since September by blocking the movement of over 170 commercial ships from Ukrainian ports (Odesa Regional State Administration, 29 October 2022). Despite Russia’s withdrawal from the agreement, the shipment of Ukrainian grain continued, with Russia rejoining the deal on 2 November following negotiations with Turkey (Reuters, 31 October 2022; Al Jazeera, 2 November 2022).
Russian forces continued to target critical infrastructure across Ukraine with missile and drone strikes, damaging over 40% of all energy infrastructure in Ukraine as of 1 November (RFE/RL, 1 November 2022). Russian shelling and missile strikes also reportedly killed dozens of civilians last week in the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Vinnytsia regions. Landmine explosions in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv regions left at least seven more civilians dead.
Last week in Russia, authorities of the Belgorod and Kursk regions reported 14 incidents of cross-border shelling, which damaged civilian infrastructure in villages close to the Russia-Ukraine border. This violence contributed to the 195% increase in average weekly violent events in Russia in the past month relative to the weekly average for the preceding year. ACLED’s Conflict Change Map also warned of increased violence in the country during the preceding four weeks.
Ceasefire violations continued along the Armenia-Azerbaijan Line of Contact last week, though at a lower level compared to the week prior. Additionally, an Azerbaijani civilian was wounded in a landmine explosion in the Jabrayil district of Azerbaijan.
Climate and environmental protests continued to take place across Europe last week. In France, more than 60 police officers and 50 demonstrators were wounded in violent clashes that broke out during a demonstration in Sainte-Soline against the deployment of new water storage infrastructure for agricultural irrigation. Elsewhere, police intervened in demonstrations in Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, arresting activists who blockaded buildings and roads and staged hand-gluing stunts and sit-ins. Further demonstration activity related to climate and environmental issues was recorded in Switzerland, Germany, and Spain.
Meanwhile, the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran continued to spark solidarity gatherings across Europe last week for a seventh consecutive week. Rallies in support of ongoing protests and women’s rights in Iran were recorded in Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, San Marino, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In Germany, three unknown individuals with covered faces attacked the participants of a pro-democracy vigil outside the Iranian embassy. The assailants tore banners and flags from a vehicle parked in front of the building and attacked the occupants inside.
Demonstration activity linked to rising living costs, inflation, and energy prices also continued across the region last week, with cross-sector protests held in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Moldova, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Note: This dashboard automatically updates to cover the latest four weeks of data released by ACLED. Use the date filters to view data for the one-week period covered by this Regional Overview.
