Key trends
- In the Donetsk region, Russian forces occupied three settlements in the Kurakhove direction and another north of Donetsk city. Russian forces also advanced north and south of Selydove and south of Chasiv Yar.
- Along the Donetsk-Luhansk administrative boundary, Russia seized a village northwest of Kreminna. Russian forces continued to advance towards Kupiansk, reaching the western bank of the Oskil river, though Ukrainian military intelligence troops regained a village in the area.
- ACLED records 19 Russian long-range missile and drone strikes, targeting the central Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Kirovograd, and Cherkasy regions, the southern Mykolaiv and Odesa regions, the western Ternopil region, and the region and city of Kyiv. Ukrainian forces also intercepted strikes in at least 28 instances, including over the regions of Cherkasy, Khmelnytskyi, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Volyn, Zhytomyr, and Kyiv.
- Russian shelling, missiles, and drones killed at least 15 civilians across Ukraine. In addition, Ukrainian drone strikes and shelling killed two civilians in the Russia-occupied Horlivka.
Key events
- 14 Oct. | Kherson – Russian strikes kill two civilians and damage a Red Cross office building and vehicles
- 15 Oct. | Mykolaiv – A Russian missile strike kills a civilian and injures 23, damages educational institutions, medical facilities
- 17 Oct. | Cherkasy – Rival believers and priests clash over the handover of a church to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Spotlight: North Korean troops’ deployment to Russia raises questions about conflict internationalization
Last week, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported that nearly 1,500 North Korean soldiers were training in Russia’s Vladivostok region.1Kelly Ng, ‘N Korea sends troops to fight with Russia: Seoul’, BBC, 18 October 2024 Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov claimed that nearly 11,000 North Korean troops were already undergoing training in Russia for deployment in Ukraine and Russia’s Kursk region in November, while the Ukrainian state strategic communications center published video footage of Korean-speaking troops receiving Russian uniforms and gear.2Howard Altman, ‘Nearly 11,000 North Korean Troops In Russia Preparing To Enter The Fight Says Ukraine’s Spy Boss’, The War Zone, 17 October 2024; Center for Strategic Communications, ‘North Korean troops being outfitted in Russian gear (completed),’ 18 October 2024 These reports have raised concerns among Ukraine’s Western allies about the escalation of the war through the addition of a new belligerent and an influx of troops.3Kateryna Denisova, ‘Sending North Korean troops to fight Russia’s war would mean ‘significant escalation,’ Rutte says’, The Kyiv Independent, 21 October 2024; Michelle Nichols, ‘US consults allies about North Korea troops in Ukraine’, Reuters, 22 October 2024 At the same time, these reports may have prompted South Korea to consider sending military observers to monitor North Korean presence.4Chae Yun-hwan, ‘S. Korea considering sending personnel to Ukraine to monitor N. Korean troops: source’, Yonhap News Agency, 22 October 2024
North Korea has already provided Russia with artillery shells and ballistic missiles,5Jean Mackenzie, ‘North Korean weapons are killing Ukrainians. The implications are far bigger’, BBC, 5 May 2024; The Independent Anti-Corruption Commission, ‘Western Companies’ Recently Manufactured Components Found in a North Korean Missile Shot Down in Ukraine’, NAKO, 17 October 2024 with Russian warehouses holding North Korean munitions already being the target of Ukrainian strikes. A recent strike on a training site near Donetsk city killed several North Korean military observers. President Vladimir Putin recently asked the State Duma to ratify the Russia-North Korea security pact, which provides legal groundwork for cooperation and formalizes the existing agreements on military assistance.6Anton Sokolin, ‘Putin pushes for ratification of military pact he made with Kim Jong Un,’ NK News, 15 October 2024
Explore the ACLED Conflict Exposure tool to assess the numbers of people affected by armed violence, disaggregated by locations, time period, and actors involved.