Ukraine Conflict Monitor
Update
Ukraine War Situation Update: 19 - 25 October 2024
Weekly update on Russian and Ukraine confrontations, civilian impact, and key events.
- 1,031 political violence events- >1% decrease compared to last week
- 64 incidents of violence targeted at civilians- 21% increase compared to last week
- At least 42 fatalities from civilian targeting- 121% increase compared to last week
Key trends
- In the Donetsk region, Russian forces prioritized capturing Selydove to the southeast of Pokrovsk. They occupied two settlements in the Pokrovsk direction, two others north of Soledar and Siversk, respectively, and a village northwest of Kreminna near the boundary with the Luhansk region.
- Russian forces continued to advance towards Kupiansk, aiming to sever Ukrainian communications and logistics routes across the Oskil river.
- ACLED records 19 Russian long-range missile and drone strikes, targeting the central Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, and Cherkasy regions, the southern Odesa region, the western Khmelnytskyi region, the northern Zhytomyr region, and the region and city of Kyiv. Ukrainian forces also intercepted strikes in at least 47 further instances.
- Russian shelling, missiles, and drones killed at least 42 civilians across Ukraine. In addition, Ukrainian shelling killed one civilian near Russia-occupied Donetsk city.
Key events
-
21 Oct.
Zaporizhia – A Russian ballistic missile strike on Zaporizhia city kills three civilians and wounds 19 others
-
25 Oct.
Dnipropetrovsk – A Russian missile hits residential area and a key hospital in Dnipro, killing four civilians
-
25 Oct.
Kyiv – A Russian drone strike hits a residential building, killing one civilian and wounding six others
Spotlight: Russian strikes continue to target rescue workers
Last week, ACLED recorded three events where Russian forces targeted rescue workers in Ukraine. On 19 October, Russian guided aerial bombs destroyed a fire and rescue unit in Shostka, Sumy region, injuring five rescue workers and damaging six rescue vehicles.1 On the same day, a double-tap ballistic missile strike injured 18 civilians, including a rescuer, in Kryvyi Rih. The strikes also damaged residential areas, administrative buildings, and 30 vehicles. Russian military bloggers claimed that the strike targeted a hotel housing electronic warfare specialists.2 On 21 October, a Russian drone dropped an explosive on an ambulance crew that had arrived at a patient’s home in Kherson city, injuring two of its members.3 International humanitarian law prohibits double-tap strikes affecting civilians, rescuers, and medical personnel. In addition to Ukraine,4 Russian forces previously resorted to double-tap strikes in Syria.5
Explore the ACLED Conflict Exposure tool to assess the numbers of people affected by armed violence, disaggregated by locations, time period, and actors involved.
