1,324 political violence events
2% increase compared to last week
80 incidents of violence targeting civilians
3% increase compared to last week
At least 48 fatalities from civilian targeting
85% increase compared to last week
Key trends
- Russian forces occupied four settlements in the Donetsk region — one southwest of Pokrovsk, two north of Velyka Novosilka, and one southwest of Toretsk — as well as a settlement west of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhia region.
- ACLED records at least 20 Russian long-range missile and drone strikes, including in the Kyiv region and Kyiv city. Ukrainian forces intercepted over a hundred drones and missiles over southern, eastern, and northern Ukraine.
- Russian shelling, missiles, and drones killed at least 46 civilians in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, and Zaporizhia regions. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones and shelling reportedly killed at least four civilians in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including two in proximity to Russian military positions.
Key events
- 30 Mar. | Kharkiv – Russian drones kill two and wound 55 civilians in Kharkiv city
- 1 Apr. | Kherson – Russian forces shell energy infrastructure in Kherson city, causing blackouts for at least 45,000 residents
- 3 Apr. | Kharkiv – Russian drones hit an apartment building in Kharkiv city, killing five civilians and wounding 34 others
Spotlight: The Dnipropetrovsk region comes under heavy Russian fire
On 4 April, a Russian ballistic missile with a cluster warhead exploded midair over a playground in Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region, killing 20 civilians, including nine children, and wounding 75 others. Additionally, it damaged over 30 residential buildings, six educational facilities, and over 30 vehicles. This was the deadliest attack on civilians in the region since June 2023. The strike came amid Russia’s repeated targeting of Kryvyi Rih, home city of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, throughout the week, including twice with ballistic missiles. Earlier strikes left four civilians dead and at least 50 injured.
Increased strikes were not, however, limited to Kryvyi Rih. Across the Dnipropetrovsk region, ACLED records 38 shelling and airstrike events last week, levels last reached in late October 2024. Around a third of these events resulted in civilian casualties, including in the region’s capital Dnipro, as well as in Nikopol and Synelnykove. Russia’s heightened aerial focus on the region comes as Russian forces are approaching the region’s administrative boundary with the Donetsk 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.
