1105 political violence events
4% decrease compared to last week
49 incidents of violence targeting civilians
6% decrease compared to last week
At least 20 fatalities from civilian targeting
82% increase compared to last week
Key trends
- In the Donetsk region, Russian forces advanced near Kurakhove, Vozdvyzhenka, and Chasiv Yar, occupying a settlement south of Pokrovsk and two settlements west of Kurakhove. Russian forces also took control of two settlements in the Lyman direction, one in the Donetsk region and another in neighboring Luhansk.
- ACLED records 20 Russian long-range missile and drone strikes, including attacks on the Kyiv region. Ukrainian forces intercepted strikes in at least 39 other instances in 14 regions, including the western regions of Khmelnytskyi and Vinnytsia.
- Russian shelling, missiles, and drones killed at least 20 civilians, mostly in the Donetsk region, as well as in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions. Meanwhile, Ukrainian shelling and drone strikes targeting Russian forces also killed one and injured at least 18 civilians in the Russia-occupied part of the Donetsk region.
Key events
- 16 Feb. | Mykolaiv – Russian drones destroy a thermal power plant in Mykolaiv, leaving 100,000 people without heating
- 19 Feb. | Kherson – A Russian drone targets an outpatient clinic in the Bilozerska community, injuring eight medical workers
- 19 Feb. | Odesa – A Russian drone strike leaves 90,000 people without power
Spotlight: Russian forces step up attacks on Kostiantynivka
Civilians in the Kramatorskyi district of the Donetsk region faced an increased level of indiscriminate targeting, pointing to Russian forces’ possible probing of the northern part of the region for the next stage of their offensive.
Last week, Russian guided aerial bombs, first-person view (FPV) drones, and missiles killed eight and injured at least 10 civilians in the town of Kostiantynivka southeast of Kramatorsk alone. On 18 February, an FPV drone strike targeted rescue workers delivering water to remaining civilians, injuring two rescuers, while a follow-up strike on the evacuation crew injured two police officers and the head of the local administration. Russian forces also targeted residential areas in other towns in the area, such as Nykonorivka and Mykolaivka, as well as the bigger Sloviansk and district capital Kramatorsk, where strikes resulted in two additional civilian fatalities and damage to heating and electricity networks.
The proximity of the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk-Kostiantynivka urban agglomeration to Chasiv Yar and Toretsk — two hotspots to the east that Russian troops have been assaulting since spring and summer of 2024, respectively — and its role as a military logistics hub increases the risk of civilian targeting, especially as Russian forces employ more jamming-resistant FPV drones.1RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service and Reid Standish, ‘The New Drones Boosting Russia’s Advances On The Battlefield In Ukraine,’ Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 10 January 2025 The possible redeployment of Russian troops from other directions following Russian successes in the southern part of the Donetsk region and Ukrainian pushback around Pokrovsk may further worsen the humanitarian situation in increasingly besieged cities such as Kostiantynivka.2Donbas.Realii and Serhii Horbatenko, ‘Battle for Kostiantynivka in the summer? Why talked about the new direction of the front,’ Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Ukrainian Service, 21 February 2025
Explore the ACLED Conflict Exposure tool to assess the numbers of people affected by armed violence, disaggregated by locations, time period, and actors involved.
