Ukraine Conflict Monitor
Update
Ukraine war situation update | 29 November – 5 December 2025
Overview of political violence events in Ukraine from 29 November to 5 December 2025.
Key stats
1,465 political violence events
6% decrease compared to last week
113 incidents of violence targeting civilians
3% decrease compared to last week
At least 44 fatalities from civilian targeting
27% decrease compared to last week
Key events
-
29 Nov.
Kyiv — A Russian bombardment of Kyiv city and region kills six civilians and injures about 50 others
-
1 Dec.
Dnipropetrovsk — A Russian ballistic missile strike on Dnipro city kills four civilians and injures 45 others
-
3 Dec.
Lviv — A man fatally stabs a military recruiter in Lviv city during a paper check
Key trends
- Russian forces seized two settlements southeast of Myrnohrad in the Donetsk region and five settlements north and east of Huliaipole in the Zaporizhia region. Reports also suggest that they may have occupied Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region.
- Russian forces launched at least 40 long-range missile and drone attacks, of which over half were on Kyiv city and the surrounding region, as well as the Odesa region.
- Russian strikes killed at least 38 civilians in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Sumy regions, as well as Kyiv city and region. A Ukrainian drone strike killed two civilians in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region.
Spotlight: Russia claims sweeping gains amid a renewed US push for a ceasefire
On 1 December, Russian forces claimed to have fully occupied Pokrovsk and Vovchansk in the Donetsk and Kharkiv region, respectively,1 less than two weeks after also claiming to have seized Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region.2 The three towns have been in Russia’s crosshairs for the past two years. Although Ukrainian forces may no longer control Vovchansk, the battles for Pokrovsk and Kupiansk continue. The two cities are likely launchpads of the looming Russian offensive on the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, which together make up the bulk of the region still under Ukraine’s control. Meanwhile, Vovchansk — a now-destroyed town on the border with Russia — had mired Russian forces in urban fighting after their reinvasion of the northern Kharkiv region in May 2024. The claims of major territorial gains come in the wake of yet another United States-led push to end the war, with Russia’s key demand centering on Ukraine ceding the entire Donetsk region to Russia in addition to areas it already holds.3
ACLED data indicate that the pace of Russian occupation of Ukraine has accelerated in the first 11 months of 2025, with Russian forces claiming over 190 distinct settlements — about 40% more than in the same period of 2024. Despite heavy emphasis on the region, the number of Donetsk settlements captured in 2025 is only slightly higher than in 2024. Instead, the steep increase in the overall number is mostly due to the more than 50 settlements that Russian forces seized in the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, and Sumy regions. The loss of ground in the latter region is the side effect of Ukrainian forces’ defeat in Russia’s Kursk region across the border in March, while gains in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions have come on the back of a shortage of Ukrainian infantry to hold positions west of Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region.4 Russia has been on the offensive since October 2023 and has secured incremental gains despite heavy losses.5
Explore the ACLED Conflict Exposure Calculator to assess the number of people affected by armed violence, disaggregated by locations, time period, and actors involved.
