1154 political violence events
7% decrease compared to last week
66 incidents of violence targeting civilians
22% decrease compared to last week
At least 41 fatalities from civilian targeting
29% increase compared to last week
Key trends
- In the Donetsk region, Russian forces occupied a village northwest of Velyka Novosilka. Meanwhile, counter-attacking Ukrainian forces marginally advanced around Pokrovsk.
- Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in the Odesa, Poltava, Chernihiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Ternopil regions on 7 March in one of the largest attacks to date. Ukrainian forces intercepted strikes in at least 35 more instances in 17 regions, including the central regions of Cherkasy and Kirovohrad.
- Russian shelling, missiles, and drones killed at least 40 civilians in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Sumy, and Zaporizhia regions.
Key events
- 2 Mar. | Kherson – A Russian drone hits a bus in Kherson city, killing two and injuring 10 civilians
- 5 Mar. | Dnipropetrovsk – A Russian missile hits a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, killing six and injuring over 30 civilians
- 7 Mar. | Donetsk – Russian missiles and a drone hit apartment buildings in Dobropillia, killing nine civilians and two emergency workers
Spotlight: Russia intensifies efforts to push Ukraine out of the Kursk region
Russian forces intensified attacks in the Kursk region in an attempt to force Ukrainian troops out of the Russian territory. On 7 March, Russian forces took on Ukrainian strongholds north of Sudzha and swiftly advanced south of the town, partially cutting off the mostly forested area around Guevo from the rest of the Ukrainian foothold and unleashing intense fire on the road that supplies Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region. Russian reconnaissance groups also reportedly crossed Ukraine’s border around Novenke in the Sumy region to help disrupt the supply line.1Angelica Evans et al., “Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 7, 2025,” Institute for the Study of War, 7 March 2025 Overall, by the end of the reporting period, Russia regained around two-thirds of the territory Ukraine seized in a surprise cross-border counter-invasion in August 2024.2Marc Santora, “With Drones and North Korean Troops, Russia Pushes Back Ukraine’s Offensive,” The New York Times, 9 March 2025 The recent reinforcement of Russian forces with North Korean troops3Patrick Reevell, “Ukraine under pressure in Russia’s Kursk region,” ABC News, 10 March 2025; Anton Sokolin, “North Korean troops pivotal to Russian military advances in Kursk, Ukraine says,” NK News, 10 March 2025 and the weeklong suspension of United States military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine4Warren P. Strobel et al., “U.S. pauses sharing of intelligence Ukraine uses for strikes on Russia,” The Washington Post, 5 March 2025 may have helped Russia quickly regain ground last week.5Christina Harward et al., “Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 8, 2025,” Institute for the Study of War, 8 March 2025 Russian advances in the Kursk region may compromise Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s idea of exchanging territory with Russia and threaten a Russian offensive in the Sumy region.
Explore the ACLED Conflict Exposure tool to assess the numbers of people affected by armed violence, disaggregated by locations, time period, and actors involved.
