Ukraine Conflict Monitor

This aerial photograph shows a destroyed church and other destruction in the village of Bohorodychne, Donetsk region, on January 27, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images)

ACLED’s Ukraine Conflict Monitor provides near real-time information on the ongoing war, including an interactive map of the latest data from the start of Russia’s invasion, a curated data file, and weekly situation updates. It  is designed to help researchers, policymakers, media, and the wider public track key conflict developments in Ukraine. It is released every Wednesday, with data covering events from Saturday to Friday of the preceding week and providing updates to past events as new or better information becomes available.

Ukraine War Situation Update:
7 – 13 December 2024

980 political violence events

13% increase compared to last week

35 incidents of violence targeted at civilians

29% decrease compared to last week

At least 22 fatalities from civilian targeting

44% decrease compared to last week

Key trends

  • In the Donetsk region, Russian forces occupied three settlements south of Pokrovsk and two others south of Kurakhove.
  • Russian forces also seized two settlements in the Kharkiv region along the administrative boundary with the Luhansk region.
  • ACLED records 14 Russian long-range missile and drone strikes, including in the western regions of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, and Ternopil. Ukrainian forces also intercepted strikes in at least 24 further instances, including – for the first time – in the westernmost Zakarpattia region.
  • Russian shelling, missiles, and drones killed at least 22 civilians in the Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Kherson, and Sumy regions. Another civilian was killed during Russian shelling of Ukrainian positions near Kherson city.

Key events

  • 10 Dec. | Zaporizhia – A Russian drone strikes an International Atomic Energy Agency vehicle 
  • 10 Dec. | Zaporizhia – A Russian missile strikes a medical facility, killing 11 civilians and injuring 22 others
  • 13 Dec. | Lviv – Russian missiles damage core energy infrastructure in the Lviv region, triggering blackouts across the country

Spotlight: North Korean troops reportedly enter battlefield in Russia’s Kursk region as Russia regains territory

Russian forces continued offensive operations in several directions in the Kursk region after mostly stalling in November following successful counter-attacks in September and October that reduced Ukraine-held area by about 40%.1Olena Harmash, ‘Ukraine has lost over 40% of land it seized in Russia’s Kursk region, senior Kyiv military source says,’ Reuters, 24 November 2024 On the western edge of the Ukraine-held salient, Russian forces recaptured Darino and Novoivanovka on 11 and 12 December, respectively, but were repelled in the area of Novaya Sorochina further north. They also reclaimed Plekhovo on the southeastern flank of the salient close to the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in early August, seizing over 20 settlements, including the town of Sudzha, after meeting little resistance from Russian troops.

On 14 December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported first deployments of North Korean troops in combat roles, while Ukrainian military intelligence alleged losses among North Korean troops in Kursk region.2Abbey Fenbert, ‘North Korean troops joining Russian assaults in Kursk, Zelensky says,’ Kyiv Independent, 14 December 2024; Boldizsar Gyori, ‘30 North Korean soldiers killed, injured in Kursk Oblast assaults, Ukraine’s intelligence claims’, The Kyiv Independent, 16 December 2024 Ukrainian officials previously reported their first clashes with North Korean troops near the frontline in early November.3Martin Fornusek, ‘First North Korean troops come under fire in Kursk Oblast, Ukrainian official claims’, The Kyiv Independent, 4 November 2024 According to US and Ukrainian estimates, around 11,000 North Korean troops were transferred to Russia for training in October, of whom 8,000 were subsequently deployed to Kursk region.4Andrew Roth, ‘About 8,000 North Korean soldiers at Ukraine border, says US’, The Guardian, 31 October 2024 Pyongyang has been helping Moscow to replenish its stocks of shells and missiles since 2023 and concluded a mutual defense pact in June 2024.5Olena Goncharova, ‘North Korea ratifies defense treaty with Russia,’ Kyiv Independent, 12 November 2024

Explore the ACLED Conflict Exposure tool to assess the numbers of people affected by armed violence, disaggregated by locations, time period, and actors involved.

Ukraine Conflict: Interactive Map

This interactive map includes political violence events in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022.

Date and subset filters

By default, the map displays data for the most recent week. Use the date filters to change the date range in view.

Use the subset filters to analyze trends in more detail.

Changing view

By default, the map is set to event view, which uses scaled circles to show events at a given location. Click on a region in Ukraine to zoom in for a more detailed view. Hovering over a region will give a count of events within its borders.

Changing to region (oblast) view will switch the map to a choropleth, giving an overview of event density per region. This will also disable the zoom function.

Events in Russia

While in event view, use the ‘Events in Russia’ toggle to show or hide conflict-related events in Russia. Conflict-related events are identified as follows:

  • All events with the ‘Battles’ or ‘Explosions/remote violence’ event type. 
  • Events with the ‘Violence against civilians’ event type, where the actor is:
    • Ukrainian or Russian military
    • Russian border guards
    • Pro-Ukrainian Russian militias

Event counts and civilian fatalities

The box in the bottom right hand corner displays event counts in total, disaggregated by event type, and filtered by date or subset according to the options already selected. 

It also shows a conservative estimate of civilian fatalities, limited to events where civilians are targeted directly. Military casualties are not represented on the map as they are largely unverifiable.

For more information on how ACLED codes fatalities, read our methodology explainer.

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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.

Ukraine & the Black Sea ( 13 December 2024 )

Download File

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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.

Previous Weekly Situation Updates