1150 political violence events
8% increase compared to last week
52 incidents of violence targeting civilians
7% decrease compared to last week
At least 11 fatalities from civilian targeting
68% decrease compared to last week
Key trends
- In the Donetsk region, Russian forces advanced near Kurakhove and Velyka Novosilka, and occupied a settlement south of Pokrovsk.
- In the Kharkiv region, Russian forces advanced north of Dvorichna.
- ACLED records 30 Russian long-range missile and drone strikes, including attacks on Kyiv city, Kyiv region, and the central regions of Cherkasy and Kirovohrad. Ukrainian forces intercepted strikes in at least 46 other instances in 17 regions, including the western regions of Volyn and Rivne.
- Russian shelling, missiles, and drones killed at least 11 civilians in the Kherson, Sumy, Donetsk, and Zaporizhia regions, as well the city of Kyiv. Ukrainian shelling and drone strikes targeting Russian forces also killed one and injured at least 26 civilians in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region.
Key events
- 9 Feb. | Donetsk – A Russian aerial bomb strikes residential buildings and a medical clinic in Kramatorsk, killing one civilian
- 14 Feb. | Mykolaiv – An explosive device kills three demining specialists and wounds eight civilians in Mykolaiv city
- 14 Feb | Kyiv – A Russian drone pierces the radiation shield over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, causing a fire
Spotlight: Kyiv floats exchange of territory as latest Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region stalls
Ukraine’s most recent push to secure the area southeast of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region started on 6 February but seemingly stalled in its second week, with Ukrainian forces struggling to gain a foothold and establish control over settlements in the area. The level of violence in the Kursk region has not subsided, however, as Kyiv continues precision strikes on Russian military command posts.1Kateryna Hodunova, ‘Ukraine’s strike on Russian command center in Kursk Oblast causes ‘significant losses,’ General Staff says’, The Kyiv Independent, 4 February 2025 The intensification of hostilities could be aimed at consolidating Kyiv’s posture ahead of putative ceasefire negotiations. In this context, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy aired the possibility of exchanging Ukraine-occupied areas in the Kursk region for unspecified territories occupied by Russia in Ukraine.2Shawn Walker, ‘Zelenskyy: Europe cannot guarantee Ukraine’s security without America’, The Guardian, 11 February 2025
Since the initial incursion into the Kursk oblast of the Russian Federation in early August 2024, which saw the rapid occupation of over 20 settlements, Ukrainian forces have achieved limited advances amid Russian counter-offensives conducted jointly with North Korean troops. Whereas some observers see the Kursk incursion as a success due to the Ukrainian forces’ ability to pin significant Russian troops away from the crucial Donetsk battlefields,3Angelica Evans, ‘Ukraine’s Kursk Incursion: Six Month Assessment,’ Institute for the Study of War, 6 February 2025 ACLED records over 50 instances of Russian forces regaining control over settlements in the contested area.
Explore the ACLED Conflict Exposure tool to assess the numbers of people affected by armed violence, disaggregated by locations, time period, and actors involved.
