Ukraine Conflict Monitor

ACLED’s Ukraine Conflict Monitor provides near real-time information on the war, including an interactive map of the latest data from the start of the invasion onward, a curated data file, and weekly situation updates.

The Monitor is designed to help researchers, policymakers, media, and the wider public track key conflict developments in Ukraine over the course of the war. It is updated every Wednesday, with data covering events from the previous week. ACLED data reflect the best available information at the time of release, and are regularly updated as new or better information becomes available.

Due to  the methodological limitations of event-based data collection, in addition to the broader challenges around fatality reporting in fast-moving conflict contexts like Ukraine, fatality estimates in the ACLED dataset pertain specifically to those fatalities reported in connection with distinct events that meet ACLED’s catchment and minimum threshold for inclusion (i.e. date, location, and actor information). This means that aggregate tallies provided by sources such as hospitals and government agencies, for example, which cannot be broken down and connected to individual conflict incidents, are not included in the ACLED dataset. ACLED fatality numbers are conservative event-based estimates, and the full death toll in such contexts is likely higher than the number of reported fatalities currently attributed to the type of distinct incidents that can be captured in the dataset. For these reasons, the Monitor will not be providing regular fatality estimate updates at this time.1Tracking fatalities is one of the most difficult aspects of conflict data collection in general, as fatality counts are frequently the most biased, inconsistent, and poorly documented components of conflict reporting, and this is especially true of active conflict environments impacted by high levels of mis/disinformation and severe access constraints. ACLED defaults to conservative estimates based on the best available information at the time of coding in line with our specific event-based methodology and review process. ACLED estimates are restricted to fatalities reported during individual events, meaning that these estimates may be particularly conservative in comparison with sources that do not use an event-based methodology. When and where possible, ACLED researchers seek out information to triangulate the numbers from any report, but we do not independently verify fatalities. ACLED is also a ‘living dataset’, so all fatality figures are revised and corrected — upward or downward — if new or better information becomes available (which, in some conflict contexts, can be months or years after an event has taken place). These figures should therefore be understood as indicative estimates rather than definitive fatality counts (for more on ACLED’s approach to coding fatalities, see FAQs: ACLED Fatality Methodology). ACLED additionally only captures fatalities that are directly caused by political violence; indirect conflict-related fatalities caused by disease or starvation, for example, are not included in these estimates. Other sources may come to different figures due to differing methodologies and catchments.

13 – 19 May 2023

Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces continued in and around Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the Donetsk region and along the Kreminna-Svatove-Kupiansk line in the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions. Ukrainian forces reportedly gained ground in the area surrounding Bakhmut,2Grace Mappes et al., ‘Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 18, 2023,’ Institute for the Study of War, 18 May 2023 while Russian forces advanced further inside the city.3Telegram DeepStateUA, 19 May 2023 Ukrainian forces also continued to launch long-range strikes at Luhansk city, claiming to have hit barracks of Russian forces on 15 May. Meanwhile, one person was killed and six others, including the self-appointed ‘interior minister’ for the Luhansk People’s Republic Igor Kornet, were injured in a grenade explosion at a barber shop in Luhansk city on the same day.4Luke Harding, ‘Ukraine Strikes Russian Forces in Luhansk before Expected Counteroffensive,’ Guardian, 15 May 2023 Separately, alleged Ukrainian partisans blew up a railway near Simferopol in Crimea on 18 May.

Russian forces continued to target civilian infrastructure across Ukraine with shelling, airstrikes, and missiles, reportedly killing dozens of civilians in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Sumy, and Zaporizhia regions. Russian forces also continued with an increased pace of missile and drone strikes in the areas further from the frontline. The capital city of Kyiv was attacked on three nights last week. Although all missiles and drones were reportedly shot down by the Ukrainian air defense, the debris caused damage in several districts of Kyiv. Additionally, Russian missiles and drones targeted the western regions of Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Lviv, and Ternopil, wounding over 30 civilians in Khmelnytskyi and Ternopil cities, as well as the central regions of Vinnytsia and Poltava and the northern region of Zhytomyr.

For previous situation updates and infographics, click here.

Interactive Dashboard

This dashboard includes political violence events in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022. By default, the map displays data for the most recent week. Use the filters on the left to analyze trends in more detail.

Curated Data

This file contains all political violence events, demonstration events, and strategic developments recorded in Ukraine and the Black Sea from the beginning of ACLED coverage in 2018 to the present.

For an overview, see our interactive dashboard.

Information & Analysis

For additional information on the conflict in Ukraine, check our analysis of political violence trends from the start of ACLED coverage in 2018.