1,392 political violence events
1% decrease compared to last week
85 incidents of violence targeting civilians
6% decrease compared to last week
At least 53 fatalities from civilian targeting
35% decrease compared to last week
Key trends
- In the Donetsk region, Russian forces occupied two settlements southwest of Toretsk and reoccupied Katerynivka in the direction of Lyman. Russian forces also advanced south of Pokrovsk and northeast of Velyka Novosilka.
- ACLED records at least 29 Russian long-range missile and drone strikes, including in the western regions of Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr, and in Kyiv city.
- Russian shelling, missiles, and drones killed at least 49 civilians in the city of Kyiv and in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, and Zaporizhia regions. In the occupied parts of Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, Ukrainian shelling reportedly killed at least two civilians.
Key events
- 23 Apr. | Dnipropetrovsk – A Russian drone strikes a bus carrying factory workers in Marhanets, killing nine civilians
- 24 Apr. | Kyiv – Russian drones and missiles kill 13 and injure at least 90 civilians in Kyiv city
- 25 Apr. | Dnipropetrovsk – Russian forces target the Hospitallers paramedic hub in Pavlohrad, killing three and injuring 18 civilians
Spotlight: Russia, Ukraine trade accusations over violations of Easter truce
On the evening of 19 April, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced a 30-hour truce with immediate effect to cover Easter Sunday until midnight of 21 April. Ukraine committed to the ceasefire under the condition of reciprocity.1Hanna Arhirova, “Ukraine wary of Putin’s Easter truce and says it will reciprocate only a genuine ceasefire,” The Associated Press, 19 April 2025
ACLED data show no long-range strikes, corroborated by the absence of air raid alerts,2Yevheniia Martyniuk, “Zelenskyy to Putin: ‘No sirens on Easter in Ukraine – let’s keep it that way for 30 days,’” Euromaidan Press, 20 April 2025 and a decrease in the number of short-range strikes in Ukraine on 20 April. However, armed clashes continued nearly unabated in the Donetsk region. A limited number of clashes also reportedly occurred in the Zaporizhia, Luhansk, and Kharkiv regions, as well as in Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions. Russia reported Ukrainian strikes targeting civilians in the occupied cities of Donetsk and Horlivka, as well as parts of the Kherson region, while Ukrainian civilian evacuation workers claimed they were targeted near Kostiantynivka.3Diana Kozlova, “‘They hunted us down’. Russian army attacked with drones an evacuation vehicle with people near Kostiantynivka,” Suspilne, 20 April 2025 (Ukrainian) Ukrainian military officials suggested that the Russian forces used the ceasefire to regroup and prepare for launching local offensives.4Valentyna Romanenko, “Russians used ‘Easter truce’ to improve tactical position,” Ukrainska Pravda, 22 April 2025; Anna Fratsyvir, “Russia using Easter ceasefire to prepare assault in Kharkiv sector, Ukrainian military says,” Kyiv Independent, 21 April 2025; Ekaterina Belyakova, “‘It became much quieter’. Spokesperson for the South of Defense on changes at the front after Russia’s statements about the ‘Easter truce.’” Suspilne, 20 April 2025 (Ukrainian)
Ukraine proposed extending the long-range ceasefire for 30 days, but Russia rejected the idea and ramped up strikes on Ukrainian cities following the end of the ceasefire, including the capital Kyiv, where a barrage of Russian missiles and drones killed 13 and wounded at least 90 civilians. This round of strikes constituted the most complex attack since the 7 July 2024 strikes that destroyed Ukraine’s major children’s hospital, Okhmatdyt. On 28 April, Putin proposed another ceasefire around the 80th anniversary of the Soviet and Allies’ victory in World War II, which Ukraine criticized and thus far hasn’t agreed to, suggesting instead an immediate 30-day-long ceasefire to allow for talks.5BBC Ukrainian service, “Putin announced a truce from May 8 to 11. How Ukraine and the United States react,” 28 April 2025 (Ukrainian)
Explore the ACLED Conflict Exposure tool to assess the numbers of people affected by armed violence, disaggregated by locations, time period, and actors involved.
