1,400 political violence events
8% increase compared to last week
89 incidents of violence targeting civilians
17% increase compared to last week
At least 81 fatalities from civilian targeting
286% increase compared to last week
Key trends
- In the Donetsk region, Russian forces occupied three settlements: one southwest of Pokrovsk and two southwest of Toretsk. Ukrainian forces regained control of a settlement north of Velyka Novosilka.
- Russian forces advanced north of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region and in the westerly direction of Svatove in the Luhansk region.
- ACLED records at least 25 Russian long-range missile and drone strikes, including in the Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv regions, as well as in Kyiv city.
- Russian shelling, missiles, and drones killed at least 71 civilians in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, and Zaporizhia regions. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones and shelling reportedly killed at least 10 civilians in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Kharkiv regions.
Key events
- 13 Apr. | Sumy – Russian missiles hit civilian infrastructure in Sumy city, killing at least 35 people and injuring 120
- 17 Apr. | Dnipropetrovsk – Russian drones kill three civilians and wound 31 others in Dnipro
- 18 Apr. | Kharkiv – Russian cluster munitions explode over a residential building in Kharkiv city, killing one and wounding 120 civilians
Spotlight: Essential workers under fire in Ukraine
On 12 April, a Russian drone dropped an explosive on a car belonging to the Spravzhni charitable organization in Kherson city, killing one aid worker and wounding two others. Spravzhni workers have been deployed to assist with the evacuation of civilians, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and the removal of debris from the sites struck by Russian projectiles.1Olena Popovych, “Volunteer Oleg Salnyk died in Kherson as a result of a Russian drone attack,” Suspilne Media, 12 April 2025 (Ukrainian) During the week, Russian forces also injured at least three health workers in drone strikes on an ambulance in Kherson city and a hospital in the Chernihiv region, killed at least four road service workers and an employee of a municipal energy company in drone strikes across the Kherson region, and injured construction workers and excavator drivers in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions with drone strikes and artillery shelling.
Meanwhile, Russian sources reported that Ukrainian strikes killed an employee of a water utility company and injured six emergency workers in the occupied part of the Kherson region. Additionally, an unidentified unexploded ordnance wounded a railway service employee in the Russian-controlled part of the Donetsk region.
Since the beginning of 2025, ACLED records over 85 events targeting health care infrastructure; nine events targeting aid workers; and around 40 events involving emergency, transport, energy, and utility workers in Ukraine — predominantly committed by Russian forces. Attacks — often deliberate — on essential workers impede critical services, complicate rescue, and delay recovery following attacks.
Explore the ACLED Conflict Exposure tool to assess the numbers of people affected by armed violence, disaggregated by locations, time period, and actors involved.
