Research

Research

Published

May 2023

Written by

Airwars Staff

Annual report 2022

Airwars annual report for May 2022-May 2023.

The report outlines key highlights from the organisation’s research, investigations and advocacy departments over the time period, as well as strategic objectives and basic financial details.

It includes a foreword by Airwars’ director Emily Tripp, who took over at the beginning of the time period, and is designed to provide an overview of the how the different parts of the organisation overlap to achieve shared goals.

Annual report 2022

Published

May 2023

Written by

Clarie Alspektor

Assisted by

Alice Lindsay, Anika Venkatesh, Anna Zahn, Aya Wazaz, Brian Osgood, Clive Vella, Duncan Salkovskis, Eleonora Sobrero, Emily Tripp, Georgia Edwards, Igor Corcevoi, Iryna Chupryna, Joe Dyke, Joe Murphy, Jordan Smolinsky, Martha Greenhough, Megan Karlshoej-Pedersen, Richard Quinlan, Samuel Doak, Shihab Halep and Yulia Oborskaya

From February 24th to May 13th 2022, between 275 and 438 civilians were alleged to have been killed by explosive weapons when Russian forces invaded the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.

Airwars researchers documented all open source accounts of civilian harm, identifying 200 harm incidents during the short period known as the ‘Battle of Kharkiv’. Alongside the almost daily reported civilian deaths, up to 829 civilians were reported injured. In cases where the identity of the victims were reported by local sources, Airwars identified at least 30 children, 52 women and 61 men likely killed by Russian forces.

This research represents perhaps the most granular openly available database on civilian harm in the densely populated oblast that borders Russia.

In bringing together the stories shared by local residents, journalists and civil society organisations, the following research brief offers an insight into life under bombardment. We present our findings below on where and how local sources reported harm to the residents of Kharkiv, how critical infrastructure has been damaged and how essential services have been disrupted. We also present our analysis of the information environment, and the unique challenges of accurate casualty recording in this complex battleground.

Battle of Kharkiv

Our casualty recording efforts cover all local allegations of civilian harm from explosive weapons throughout Kharkiv oblast, for the period when the Kharkiv city and its surroundings were subject to an intense period of fighting – otherwise known as the ‘Battle of Kharkiv’.

The second largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv has been among the hardest hit urban areas in the war. Located some 40km from the Russian border, with a large Russian speaking population and close ties to Moscow’s economy, it was a key target when the invasion began on February 24, 2022.

As Russian forces invaded Ukraine from multiple directions, thousands of troops entered the Kharkiv region. Cities and villages were heavily shelled. In a few weeks key towns and cities in Kharkiv oblast were occupied by Russian forces, including Izyum, Kupiansk and Balaklia.

Kharkiv city itself was never occupied but instead became the scene of intense fighting and a mass exodus. Pre-war analysis estimated its population at 1.4 million, but by March 2022 that number had allegedly fallen as low as 300,000. Yet the success of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in defending Kharkiv is believed to have played a significant role in bolstering morale in the early days of the Russian invasion.

At the end of April 2022, Ukrainian forces began a counter offensive in Kharkiv. By May 13th, Russian forces were pushed from the surroundings of the city. The eventual Russian retreat was described as one of the Ukrainian military’s fastest advances since Russian troops abandoned their assault on Kyiv. In June 2022, Mayor Ihor Terekhov estimated Kharkiv city’s population had returned to around one million.

However, in the wider Kharkiv region, most occupied areas were only reclaimed following the successful Ukrainian counter-offensive in September 2022.

Today Kharkiv city is largely calm, though occasional Russian shelling continues in the oblast. The city’s infrastructure remains devastated while the human impact can be counted both in the lives lost and the large number of residents who have still not yet returned.

The archiving process

Our new archive contains crucial details about where and how civilians were harmed, as reported by local sources during the war in Kharkiv.

Our open source research is intended to be the starting point for investigators, journalists, human rights groups and families and individuals affected by this conflict, as we aggregate and preserve all local allegations to build a permanent database of harm. It is also aimed at humanising those harmed in war, and to make it clear to powerful militaries around the world that civilian harm, even in the most intense modern urban battlefields, can and must be recorded.

Our estimates of civilian harm are not definitive, as, given the widespread scale of casualties, it is likely that other incidents were not covered by sources we have tracked.

Our methodology note outlines in more detail how we applied our casualty recording methodology to this dense and complex battleground.

Frequency and intensity of harm incidents

Civilian harm incidents were recorded almost daily for the first two months of the invasion. This intense period of battle was the most deadly for civilians: in the first five days of fighting alone, between 18 and 38 civilians were reported killed, and up to another 119 wounded.

In one incident tracked by Airwars on April 10th, a community official in the city of Zolochiv told Suspilne TV that “since the morning, Zolochiv has been under fire almost all day, and for the last two and a half hours it has been non-stop.” In April 2022, the Mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, described the city as being bombed “day and night.”

Even as the Ukrainian Armed Forces were pushing back Russian troops from Kharkiv city and its surroundings towards the end of April, civilian harm incidents continued throughout the rest of the oblast: the day before analysts considered Ukraine had likely won the Battle for the city of Kharkiv, at least two civilians were reported killed in incidents beyond AFU front lines in Shebelynka, Derhachi and Balaklia.

Civilians were usually the only reported casualties

A key debate throughout the war has been the extent to which Russian forces have been striking legitimate military targets. Russian officials accuse Ukraine of placing military targets near civilian population centres, while Ukraine has claimed that the strikes are deliberately indiscriminate.

Our data shows that in 95% of cases where civilians were allegedly killed or injured (189 incidents), local sources reported that civilians were the only victims of Russian actions, and did not mention any other military object or Ukrainian military personnel harmed.

While public reporting on Ukrainian military casualties is forbidden under Ukrainian law, which may be a factor in the relatively low numbers, this is a finding that echoes other on the ground reporting from human rights organisations, such as Human Rights Watch.

In three incidents, the sources were conflicted or unclear as to whether among those reportedly harmed were also members of the Ukrainian military or only civilians.

In one incident, on March 26th, Russian forces reportedly shelled the town of Barvinkove in Izyum district, resulting in the deaths of at least four Ukrainian soldiers and one civilian. Multiple Ukrainian sources, including on social media, covered the event, noting that the shelling caused a fire in a secondary school. One source known to come from a pro-Russian account claimed that the school was being used by Ukrainian forces to create a “human shield” for Ukrainian soldiers. It reiterated that a Russian missile caused the casualties but referred to those killed and injured as soldiers. See our methodology note for how we assess and account for conflicting information.

Life under bombardment

In documenting civilian harm, local sources revealed key insights into civilians’ daily lives, and the far-reaching human toll of war.

Harmed at home

In at least 60 incidents (nearly a third of all allegations), civilians were reported to have been killed or injured at home when Russian artillery shelling or strikes hit residential buildings or houses. In one incident, on March 17th 2022, a mother and her four-year-old daughter were reportedly sleeping in their house when the shelling started. Sources claimed that the woman covered her daughter with her body to protect her. She was killed in the incident while her daughter was injured.

Sources reported civilians killed in their kitchens and bedroom. Details provided by local media give an insight into lives lost: of a Russian woman who had been living in Kharkiv for ten years; of a ninety-six year old man who survived the Holocaust, of two neighbours about to have lunch together  – all killed in their homes by alleged Russian bombardment.

Local sources also recorded stories of civilians killed while running for safety. On April 6th, 2022, a 33-year-old civilian was reported killed after an alleged Russian shelling of Zolochiv, Kharkiv. A local official, Viktor Kovalenko, stated that the young man was running “from his house to the basement of his neighbours” for shelter “because he didn’t have his own. And he didn’t run a metre and a half – his legs were blown off by an explosion.”

Routines disrupted

Civilians were also killed or injured while buying groceries and getting other essential supplies, according to local sources.

On February 28th, four civilians, including a child, were reportedly killed collecting drinking water after leaving their bomb shelter. On March 6th, a woman was severely injured while queuing in front of a shop. And on March 24th, in one deadly incident, six civilians were likely killed and up to 17 others injured in an alleged Russian shelling on a supermarket.

Many examples of daily routines disrupted by tragedy were recorded by local sources. In one incident, a mother was reportedly walking with her daughter in the street when an alleged Russian shell landed close by, killing her and seriously injuring her daughter. In another incident, an elderly woman feeding cats in a park was killed by alleged Russian artillery shelling. Sources also reported a mother was killed while she was on the phone coming back from a store, in front of her house. Her neighbour told Suspilne News that “If, perhaps, she had come a minute earlier, she would have had time… Two children were left without their mother.”

Civilians were also reported harmed while waiting for public transport, while driving in their cars, or while at work.

In March and May, in two separate incidents, several volunteers and workers at Feldman Ecopark, a zoo located north of Kharkiv city, were killed and seriously injured by reported Russian shelling. Among the victims was a fifteen-year old boy who died while attempting to evacuate the park’s animals.

Destruction of a city

In Kharkiv city, the highest number of incidents of civilian harm were recorded in Saltivskyi, in Kyivsky and Shevchenkivskiy city districts, the northern and eastern parts of the city. In September 2022, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in an interview that ‘there are some residential areas where there is nothing left’.

In Izyum, a city located some 100km south of Kharkiv, which was occupied by Russian forces for over six months, Ukrainian officials estimated that between 70 and 80% of residential buildings have been destroyed.

Airwars identified 56 incidents where civilian infrastructure was damaged alongside reports of the deaths and injuries of Kharkiv residents. For the purposes of this report, ‘infrastructure’ has been defined as any mention of the following key terms by sources: hospital, school, agriculture, humanitarian delivery services, humanitarian evacuation routes, religious institutions, marketplaces, energy supplies (gas, power, and water infrastructure).

We also monitored damage to administration buildings, shops, hostels, parks – including a zoo -, railway stations, a prison facility, and a cemetery.

The incidents related to infrastructure damage tracked by Airwars only reflects those cases where civilian deaths and injuries were also recorded, providing just a small snapshot into the wider picture of damaged infrastructure in Kharkiv.

On March 16, two to three civilians were reportedly killed and at least five others, including three rescuers, were injured by alleged Russian shelling of Novosaltivs’kyy Budivel’nyy market, in Kharkiv city. Sources tracked did not mention combatants harmed or military objects hit alongside these civilian casualties

Damage and destruction to infrastructure have reverberating effects on civilian lives. In one civilian harm incident tracked by Airwars, a gas pipeline was damaged following an alleged Russian strike, leading to more than 500 families being left temporarily without gas supply. In another incident, in May 2022, a 46-year-old woman was reportedly killed in her backyard while she was cooking over a fire due to a lack of electricity.

Access to healthcare

Destruction of the Central City Hospital (Центральна міська лікарня) of Izium (Ізюм) following reported Russian shelling on March 8th 2022, posted on Facebook by a user whose name has been redacted for security reason

Among the incidents with reference to infrastructure damage tracked by Airwars, the highest number of mentions were related to healthcare institutions, directly impacting access to medical treatment for civilians.

Airwars documented damage to 16 healthcare facilities in incidents where civilians were also killed or injured. Among these were hospitals, a blood donation centre, a pharmacy, and an ambulance. On March 3rd, a Syrian doctor, described as a gynaecologist originally from Deir Ezzor, was killed when an alleged Russian mortar hit the Kharkiv Regional hospital.

In a pattern similar to what is often reported in Syria, Airwars also tracked three allegations of so-called double-tap strikes, where a strike is followed by a second round of strikes just as emergency services or nearby civilians respond to the incident. These incidents were also captured by the Attacks on Healthcare Project, which documented cases of multiple strikes targeting the same hospitals in Kharkiv: “One was hit five times, and another was hit four times”. They added that between February 2022 and December 2022, the Kharkiv region recorded the highest number of damaged or destroyed hospitals in Ukraine.

In documenting civilian harm, local sources also often reported on the challenge that Russian bombardment was having on the ability of rescuers to respond to the incidents.

In a civilian harm incident reported in March, Kharkiv Today reported that rescuers “could not even drive up” to Kharkiv “due to constant volleys of enemy artillery.” One month later, in another incident in Izyum, Russian forces reportedly hit evacuation buses, causing civilian casualties. One local source claimed that due to destroyed roads and bridges in the area, it was impossible to bring medicine and other vital aid, “as well as the fact that the Russian occupiers prohibit movement between villages in the community.”

Munitions documented

The fighting in Kharkiv oblast mainly took place with the use of explosive weapons.

Civilians were predominantly reported killed or injured by artillery fire (accounting for 77% of incidents recorded), while the remaining incidents of harm resulted from airstrikes (eight incidents) or unexploded ordnance (six incidents).

Between 12 and 14 civilians were recorded killed, and between four and 11 injured, by planted explosives and unexploded ordnance. In one such case, sources reported that two men in their 30s were killed when their car drove over an anti-tank mine while driving to Chornohlazivka village. They were reportedly on their way to visit one of their mothers. According to a local official, the two “died on the spot, the car was blown to pieces. The occupiers had recently withdrawn from this village, they could have left it behind.”

The limited number of incidents related to mines or other explosive hazards tracked by Airwars does not reflect the scale of land contamination in the Kharkiv region, given the fact that harm related to contamination is likely to occur and be reported well beyond the initial campaign period.

Kharkiv Chief Prosecutor, Oleksandr Filchakov, explained to AP News that “no one can say now the total percentage of territory in Kharkiv that is mined, we are finding them everywhere.”

In 14 incidents, local sources accused Russian forces of having used cluster munitions. The use by Moscow of such weapons in Ukraine has been widely documented. In April 2022, Airwars showed the impact of a single Russian cluster munition that struck a hospital and blood donation centre in Kharkiv on the second day of the invasion. Damage was reported in a 350m radius. The same month, three deminers were killed and four others injured while trying to remove alleged Russian mines. Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy stated that cluster munitions were among the munitions that exploded during the operation.

In one incident, local sources mentioned the use of a projectile by Russian forces that fell on a factory with a parachute, also referred to as “parachute bomb”. The alleged Russian incident led to one civilian killed and up to six others injured. By April, the use of such weapons was already being reported in Kharkiv city by the Mayor of Kharkiv.

The information environment

As per Airwars’ standard methodology, all incidents are categorised according to the nature of information identified in relation to the incident: incidents where all sources are in agreement about the cause and case of harm are marked ‘fair’, incidents where sources disagree as to who was responsible or if civilian casualties occurred are marked ‘contested’, and incidents where there are very few sources or only generic information reported are marked ‘weak’. See our methodology note for details.

In Kharkiv, ‘fair’ events – where sources accused Russian forces for civilian harm accounted for 138 incidents, and between 275 and 387 civilian casualties.

Our team also recorded two additional ‘fair’ incidents where all sources attributed civilian harm to Ukrainian Armed Forces. These incidents account for between two and five civilian deaths. As this Brief focuses on alleged Russian actions, these two incidents were not included in our casualty totals, though they continue to be investigated by our research team.

‘Weak’ incidents accounted for 60 incidents, and between 41 and 42 casualties. All of these ‘weak’ cases accused Russian forces of being responsible for the civilian harm. In two incidents, Airwars found civilian casualties where some local sources alleged that harm resulted from the Ukrainian Armed Forces as they were pushing back Russian forces.

Although concerns around disinformation are widespread, Airwars found that individual civilian harm allegations were rarely contested in any level of detail. Where civilian harm claims were dismissed or accused of being fraudulent, accounts mainly focused on general trends.

Two types of information were found to typically be put forward by sources discrediting local civilian harm claims: either the source claimed that harm was caused by Ukrainian Armed Forces, or that Ukrainian troops were deliberately installing military equipment in residential areas or inside civilian infrastructure.

This includes claims by the Russian state at the highest levels, that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have used human shields. In March 2022, President Vladimir Putin alleged that Ukrainian security forces used Indian students in Kharkiv as “human shields” after an Indian student was reported killed in Kharkiv city by Russian shelling.

Other claims communicated by the Russian Ministry of Defense include allegations that Ukrainian forces deliberately destroyed civilian infrastructure to protect sensitive information; such as the Institute of Physics and Technology in Kharkiv, in which nuclear technology was apparently being developed. On March 1st, the building of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration and Svobody Square in Kharkiv city were hit by a rocket, leading to six to 11 casualties, among them a child, and up to 35 civilians were allegedly injured. Russian officials alleged that the strike was voluntarily conducted by Ukrainian forces against Ukrainian civilians ‘dissatisfied with the city administration’; while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russia conducted the bombing and that ‘there were no military targets in the square’.

Russia has not admitted to any civilian casualties yet and official statements published by the Ministry of Defense repeatedly affirmed that only military targets and combatants were hit by Russian shelling or strikes.

Critical gaps in casualty records

Key details of victims missing

In a number of incidents our researchers encountered a major gap in the information publicly available – the identities of the victims. In Ukrainian language reporting there has been few mention of names of victims, and limited information related to their gender, age or occupation.

This differs dramatically from other conflicts Airwars has monitored, including US airstrikes in Yemen and Iraq, Russian bombing in Syria, and Israeli bombardment in Gaza and Syria.

As an example, in one intense month of Russian and Syrian government bombing of the Syrian city of Aleppo in July 2016, our team tracked 76 different civilian harm incidents – in which we recorded 187 named victims. In March 2022, in the Kharkiv region, we tracked 70 separate civilian harm incidents from Russian strikes, but only a total of 37 named victims.

There are a number of potential reasons for this gap. A key factor is Ukraine’s privacy policy that is being applied by authorities to protect civilians’ identities. This allows the release of names only when approval has been given by the victim or his/her family.

Ukraine also has a functioning state, with security, investigative, forensic and medico-legal structures that worked to record civilian harm since earlier Russian advances on the country. In Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Syria such official structures are either lacking or distrusted by civilians. As such civilians have been forced to fill the gaps – posting details of the dead on social media, particularly Facebook.

Other reasons might involve security risks related to documentation of civilian harm within areas of active combat such as Kharkiv, including difficult or forbidden access for civilians to destroyed or collapsed buildings in urban areas looking for their loved ones due to safety issues relating to unexploded ordnance, as well as internet and/or electricity blackouts that prevented local people from communicating information to the outside world.

Missing persons

Local sources documenting civilian harm in Ukraine reveal key challenges in capturing accurate civilian casualty records due to the difficulties in recovering and identifying victims. In one incident tracked by Airwars, local sources reported that it took 20 days before a woman and her 11-year old son were found buried under the rubble of their house.

Some experts have said that it could take years to find and identify civilian victims, with Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group estimating that nearly 2,000 individuals remain missing in Kharkiv oblast alone.

Information in occupied areas

The identification of civilians killed in the conflict has been particularly challenging in Kharkiv Oblast given that many areas were occupied by Russian forces for several months. Several incidents identified by Airwars were only widely reported after Ukrainian forces had retaken control of certain areas. In Izyum, for example, Airwars identified open sources that described the death of an entire family in May 2022, when their car drove over an alleged Russian mine as they attempted to evacuate Kharkiv. It was not until October 2022 that police forces were able to report the incident for the first time through on the ground interviews and a site visit.

In areas under occupation, Kharkiv governor Oleg Synegubov stated that “the first thing they [Russian forces] did was to cut people off from any information”.

In another incident, also in Izyum city, on March 9, 2022, the Russian military was reported to have launched airstrikes on and then shelled a five story residential building – causing it to collapse. The incident killed between 47 to 54 people, including many families who were trapped in the debris. The incident was only widely reported in September, when Ukrainian forces retook control of the area.

In October 2022, Ukrainian authorities reported that they found more than 500 bodies in newly retaken areas. The causes of death are still unknown, while many families are still waiting for the results of DNA tests and additional investigations to know the fate of their loved ones.

In many incidents recorded by Airwars, sources recorded mentions of investigations launched by the Kharkiv Prosecutor Office while the conflict is still ongoing. The outcomes of these investigations are likely to reveal new details about the nature and scale of civilian harm.

Airwars will continue to update our archive as new information comes to light.

Conclusion

While the full human toll of the war is not yet fully known, the harm documented in Kharkiv reveals once again the devastating impact of conflict on civilian populations.

The severity and nature of this human cost of war underlines the need for greater measures to protect civilians in conflict across the world, particularly in densely populated areas. As documented widely by local sources, the level and severity of harm is likely to have long lasting and reverberating effects for many years to come.

▲ Collected fragments of the Russian rockets that hit Kharkiv, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Dec. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Libkos, File)

Published

May 2023

Written by

Airwars Staff

This overview is intended to accompany our Research Brief ‘Patterns of civilian harm from alleged Russian actions in Kharkiv oblast’, our conflict overview page, and our archive.

This approach was originally developed as we documented conflicts across Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the Gaza Strip, and closely aligns with global standards on Casualty Recording.

What is an ‘incident’? 

Airwars uses an incident-based approach to document civilian harm: each incident is defined as a moment in time and space where sources reported death or injury to civilian non-combatant populations. See more on sourcing below.

Where the exact time or location of an incident is unknown, civilian deaths and injuries may be aggregated under one event until more information comes to light. Each incident is geolocated to the highest possible degree of accuracy by trained geolocation teams. Where locations cannot be precisely identified, civilian harm incidents will be aggregated until more information is known.

Tagged image to show geolocation proof, incident RUK192

Our threshold of geolocation accuracy for including an incident in our archive is at sub-district level.

All incidents are considered ‘live’ in our archive, and can be updated and changed to account for evolving information.

Who are our sources?

For our work casualty recording, we assessed all known open source claims of civilian non-combatants killed or injured by all parties using explosive weapons in Kharkiv oblast.

Our sources were identified by our trained team of Ukrainian researchers, using an incident-based method to develop a continuously evolving list of sources for monitoring and investigating allegations of civilian deaths or injuries. These sources include Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, and local and international media or organisations, in Ukrainian, Russian and English language.

We routinely conduct data mapping exercises to ensure that we are coordinating with other civil society and documentation groups working in a similar field.

To date, similar aggregate databases covering casualty records in Kharkiv include: Bellingcat, Eyes on Russia-Center for Information Resilience, Attacks on Health Care in Ukraine Project, Hala systems, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), Victims Memorial, Ukraine War Archive, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and Helsinki Human Rights Union/Tribunal For Putin (T4P) initiative.

These databases are referenced throughout our assessments, to facilitate information sharing and data reconciliation across the diverse range of documentation efforts.

Note that Airwars’ mention of an incident recorded by another open source dataset does not mean that Airwars findings precisely match what has been recorded by that organisation. In certain cases, findings may differ due to the sources used or due to differences in methodology.

Managing dis/misinformation

As in all conflicts we monitor, we include any and all information relevant to a single incident of civilian harm, regardless of the affiliation of the source. In other words, if a source includes reference to the civilians killed or injured in a single incident it will be included in our assessment. If a source includes only generic information without being linked to a single incident, it will not be included.

All information is assessed, written up and archived within each assessment in order to allow the user of the dataset to conduct further investigation if needed.

Civilian casualty categories

Airwars has developed a unique methodology to categorise civilian harm incidents according to the nature of information identified in relation to the incident. This approach allows users of the archive to quickly understand the information environment relating to each allegation.

    Fair: all sources agree civilian harm occurred as a result of the actions of one belligerent (i.e. all sources agreed that Russian forces killed civilians in a single strike) Contested: not all sources agree on who was responsible for the civilian harm (i.e. some sources alleged harm resulted from Russian actions, some sources alleged harm resulted from Ukrainian forces actions). Weak: the allegation of harm came from only a single source, with little unique information circulated amongst open sources. This category may change to ‘fair’ or ‘contested’ if more information comes to light. For example, incidents qualified as ‘weak’ in occupied areas, where access to information has been restricted by Russian forces, may later be reassessed after new details are revealed. Discounted: Incidents where the original assessment of civilian casualties is later proven inaccurate, due to new information that comes to light.

Additional categories and notes

Personal information on civilians harmed

Names and personal information related to civilians harmed whose identities are known have not been included in our public archive, due to on-going security fears and with respect to the Ukrainian Law on Protection of Personal Data, along with other regulations. Airwars maintains a secure private archive of individuals named, should the situation evolve.

Damage to infrastructure

We have coded for damage to civilian infrastructure in cases where civilian death or injury was also reported. Our definition of ‘infrastructure’ is evolving, but to date accounts for any mention of the following terms by sources: healthcare infrastructure, school, agriculture, humanitarian aid distribution, humanitarian evacuation, religious institution, marketplace, gas facility, power station, and water station.

Challenges and limitations

On casualty recording in Ukraine and in Kharkiv region

The Ukrainian government stopped publishing national casualty estimates four days into the war. The United Nations, currently the sole official source for those figures, does not provide details of casualties per region. In the beginning of May 2023, the UN’s estimate found confirmed evidence of only 8,800 Ukrainian civilians killed in 15 months in all of Ukraine, mostly resulting from the use of explosive weapons. The UN has repeatedly admitted this is an underestimate, while Ukrainian war prosecutors estimate the real toll may be 10 times higher.

Airwars’ Ukraine team has found that a number of local sources often referred to authorities regarding casualty reporting and casualty numbers, and were less likely than in other conflicts monitored by Airwars to provide separate grassroots estimates of civilian deaths. This might be explained by the fact that even prior to the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has had functioning official security, forensic and medico-legal structures trusted by civilians to internally record civilian harm. Fears of occupation and retaliation in Kharkiv oblast during the time of reference could also explain less willingness from sources to publish open source details about incidents.

Our team has noted limited accounts of civilian injuries reported in local media, with sources instead often referring to civilians ‘pulled from the rubble’. Without clear mention of injuries, we have not included those rescued from the rubble in our range of civilians injured. However, we have captured this information in our summary of the incident. This is a datapoint we are exploring as an information proxy for physical harm.

On the identification of victims and missing individuals 

In a number of incidents, our researchers encountered one major gap in the information publicly released – the identities of the victims. In Ukrainian language reporting there has been few mention of names of victims, and limited information related to their gender, age or occupation. There are a number of potential reasons for this gap but a key factor is the Ukrainian Law on Protection of Personal Data, along with other regulations, applied by authorities to protect civilians’ identities. This allows the release of personal information only when approval has been given by the victim or their family. Other reasons might involve security risks related to documentation of civilian harm within areas of active combat such as Kharkiv, as well as the difficult or forbidden access for civilians to destroyed or collapsed buildings in urban areas when looking for their loved ones.

The identification of civilians killed in the conflict has also been particularly challenging in Kharkiv oblast given that many areas in the region were occupied by Russian forces for several months. In October 2022, Ukrainian authorities reported that they found hundreds of bodies in newly retaken areas. When causes of death were not known, as many families are still waiting for the results of DNA tests and additional investigations to know the fate of their loved ones, these victims were not included in our casualty totals. Some experts have said that it could take years to find and identify civilian victims, with Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group estimating that nearly 2,000 individuals remain missing in Kharkiv oblast alone.

Published

May 18, 2023

Written by

Airwars Staff

Archive of civilians killed and injured in Ukrainian region among the most in-depth public documentation to date

A mother killed cradling her child in her arms, an elderly woman hit by shrapnel while feeding stray cats, a family buried under rubble for weeks – these are among hundreds of devastating human stories recorded in Airwars’ new Ukraine research portal, among the most in-depth public documentation of the war’s human impact to date.

Over nine months, Airwars’ new Ukraine research team documented every publicly reported civilian harm allegation from explosive weapons in the ‘Battle of Kharkiv,’ which lasted from the Russian invasion on February 24th until May 13th 2022.

▲ A member of the Ukrainian Emergency Service looks at the City Hall building in the central square following shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Pavel Dorogoy)

Incident Code

RUK100

Incident date

April 6, 2022

Location

Балаклія, Balakliia, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Geolocation

49.462248, 36.857606 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A suspected Russian attack reportedly killed three civilians in Balakleya, Kharkiv the afternoon of April 6, 2022.

The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Group detailed how Russian troops shelled residential buildings, resulting in destroyed homes, and killing three civilians. NV News reported that a criminal case was opened for violation of laws and customs combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Gordon news quoted the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration Oleg Sinegubov as saying, “As a result of yesterday’s artillery shelling in Balakleya killed three people, many houses destroyed.” he also noted that it is believed that Russia launched 48 strikes against the region.

Two sources challenged these reports. Economy Today claimed that Ukrainian forces shelled Izyum, and Russian forces helped to evacuate patients with chronic diseases and others in need of special assistance. Kharkov Nash, a Ukrainian Telegram channel based in Kharkiv with local correspondents in the city, used the social media platform to accuse Ukrainian forces of killing their own civilians due to “firing indiscriminately” and that Russian soldiers located in Balakleya are continuously shelled by Ukrainian forces, and the Russian troops “can do almost nothing” to repel the Ukrainians.

This incident has reference to ACLED’s code UKR55200.

The incident occured in the afternoon.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Ukrainian Military, Ukrainian Military

Sources (16) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (5) [ collapse]

  • Screenshot of Facebook post by Olena Kulik
  • Screenshot of Facebook post by Oleh Sinegubov
  • Damage to a building caused by alleged Russian shelling of Balakliia on April 6, 2022. (Image posted by Truexa News UA via Telegram)
  • Damage caused by alleged Russian shelling of Balakliia on April 6, 2022. (Image posted by Larsya Bodareva Mediyniy Zmiiv via Facebook)
  • Screenshot of Facebook post by Larsya Bodareva Mediyniy Zmiiv

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Balakliia ( Балаклія), for which the generic coordinates are: 49.462248, 36.857606. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Ukrainian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Ukrainian Military
  • Ukrainian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Ukrainian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Ukrainian Military
  • Ukrainian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    3
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Ukrainian Military, Ukrainian Military

Sources (16) [ collapse]

Incident Code

UKUK002

Incident date

March 21, 2023

Location

Липці, Liptsy, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Geolocation

50.207362, 36.421385 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

One civilian, a man, was injured by alleged Ukrainian shelling of Liptsy in Kharkiv region on March 21, 2022.

According to major Russian news site RIA Novosti, quoting Moiseyev, head of the “Rus Triedinaya” NGO, Ukrainian military howitzer shell hit a hospital in Liptsky where about 40 women and children were being prepared for evacuation at 10:00 in the evening.

Presumably Ukrainian Telegram channel with a clear pro-Russian stance Perviy Kharkovskiy posted that as a result of the shelling, one of the villagers sustained a shrapnel wound to the head and that he was transported to Belgorod Oblast (in Russia) where Russian medics are “fighting for his life.” A woman told Perviy Kharkovskiy that “It hit the house, the gazebo started burning. And the dogs were outside, got out, started rescuing the dogs. And then a bomb or a grenade came again. I hid under the house, climbed out – I looked, he was lying there” (translated from Russian).

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Strike target
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Ukrainian Military

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Liptsy (Липці), for which the generic coordinates are: 50.207362, 36.421385. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Ukrainian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Ukrainian Military
  • Ukrainian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Strike target
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Civilians reported injured
    1
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Ukrainian Military

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Incident Code

RUK063

Incident date

March 17, 2022

Location

Козача Лопань, Kozacha Lopan, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Geolocation

50.336013, 36.193996 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Additional Geolocations

50.334438, 36.190772 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Exact location (via Airwars) level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between four and six civilians, including an elderly woman, were killed and at least two others, including a child, were wounded by alleged Russian or Ukrainian shelling of Kozacha Lopan in Kharkiv on March 17, 2022.

The head of the Dergachev community Vyacheslav Zadorenko announced on Facebook that Russian forces used cluster bombs and “as a result, at least six people were killed, data on the number of injured are being investigated. The invaders bombed the railway station, shops, pharmacies and other civilian buildings in the center of the village. At the same time, the military infrastructure that the invaders placed in Kazachya, as well as the Russian military, were not damaged.” Various local sources quoted Zadorenko and provided similar information.

Russian sources including Russian state-run RIA Novosti attributed the bombing to Ukrainian forces, accusing Ukraine of bombing “civilian objects, including at the point of issue of humanitarian aid,” resulting in the death of four civilians and the injury of at least two others. Quoting a “representative of the local provisional administration,” the Russian source reported that the shelling occurred around noon and involved 52 mm artillery guns. Discussing the victims, a local resident told RIA that a teenage girl was wounded when she was “returning home with their grandmother with food products. The grandmother was killed on the spot, the girl’s leg was torn off.”

This assessment corresponds to ACLED code UKR53666.

The incident occured at approximately 12:00 pm local time.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 6
  • (1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Ukrainian Military

Sources (29) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (12) [ collapse]

  • Damage caused by alleged Russian bombing of Kozacha Lopan on March 17, 2022. (Image posted by Slovoidilo)
  • Screenshot of Facebook post by Zadorenko
  • Damage from an alleged Russian cluster bomb on March 17, 2022. (Image posted by @TRTRussian)
  • Screenshot of Facebook post by Tatyana Radchuk
  • The armed forces of Ukraine from heavy guns fired at the border village of Kazachya Lopan, Kharkiv region. They beat exclusively on civilian objects, including at the point of issue of humanitarian aid. At that moment, another batch of food and basic necessities was distributed to people. As a result, four civilians were killed and several others were injured.
  • In the LNR reported 4 dead after the shelling of the village in the Kharkiv region by the Armed Forces of Ukraine As reported in the Luhansk People's Republic, in the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian soldiers fired on the village of Cossack Lopan from heavy guns. According to preliminary information, the shelling lasted about half an hour, and in total about forty shells were fired from the MSTA. As a result of the shelling, four people were killed, and more than two were injured. “The first shells fell around noon, it was at this time that almost the entire village (and this is at least a thousand people) received Russian humanitarian aid. Also, blows were delivered to the area of the village council and the local school. There were also people there and received humanitarian aid,” the LPR noted. The victims were evacuated to the Russian Federation for medical assistance. Among the wounded civilians was a 12-year-old girl, she was caught on the street with her grandmother when they were returning to their home with food products. An elderly woman died on the spot, and the girl was seriously injured, the LPR reported. Some residents managed to leave their homes when everything calmed down. They traveled on foot to the Russian border to take cover from shelling.
  • Damage caused by shelling of Cossack Lopan on March 17, 2022. (Image posted by Rossaprimavera.ru)
  • Ukrainian security forces shelled the recently liberated village of Kozachya Lopan in Kharkiv region. According to the RIA Novosti news agency, the first shells fell around noon. It was at this time that at least a thousand people gathered in the square to receive Russian humanitarian aid. According to preliminary information, four people were killed and at least two wounded. The victims, including a 12-year-old girl, were evacuated to Russia.
  • Kozachya Lopan was shelled with heavy weapons during the distribution of humanitarian aid Ukrainian militants shelled the village of Kozachya Lopan in Kharkiv region with heavy guns. The settlement is under the control of the Russian army. They organized a distribution of humanitarian aid there, and when hundreds of people arrived, the neo-Nazis opened fire on them. There were fatalities and injuries.

Geolocation notes (4) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention strikes in multiple locations in the town of Kozacha Lopan (Козача Лопань). Analysing audiovisual material from sources, we have narrowed these locations down to the following coordinates: 50.336013, 36.193996; 50.334438, 36.190772.

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  • Tagged visual material from sources

    Imagery:
    Zvezda

  • Tagged visual material from sources

    Imagery:
    Zvezda

  • Tagged visual material from sources

    Imagery:
    First Kharkov

  • Tagged visual material from sources

    Imagery:
    First Kharkov

Russian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Russian Military
  • Russian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Ukrainian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Ukrainian Military
  • Ukrainian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    4 – 6
  • (1 woman)
  • Civilians reported injured
    2
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Contested
    Competing claims of responsibility e.g. multiple belligerents, or casualties also attributed to ground forces.
  • Suspected attackers
    Russian Military, Ukrainian Military

Sources (29) [ collapse]

Incident Code

UKUK001

Incident date

March 17, 2022

Location

Липці, Lyptsy, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Geolocation

50.207362, 36.421385 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

Between one and for civilians, including a pregnant woman, an elderly woman, and a child, were killed by alleged Ukrainian shelling of the village of Lyptsy on March 17, 2022.

Russian source @Zud_West tweeted that Ukrainian forces shelled the village of Lyptsy, killing a pregnant woman.

Russian state owned news RIA Novosti quoted Sergei Moiseyev, head of the Rus Triune NGO, who said that “four people were killed, including a pregnant woman with an unborn child, another child and an elderly woman. There was shelling of the village of Liptsy, a shell exploded near the local hospital. Doctors and local residents – eyewitnesses told about all this.”

RIA Novosti added that Moiseyev was only able to provide information on the victims of the shelling on March 20th because there was no telephone or internet connection.

According to a tweet from @nkrav10, Russian forces had been occupying Lyptsy village since the first day of the war and had been looting people’s houses.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Strike target
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 4
  • (1 child1–2 women)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Ukrainian Military
  • Suspected target
    Russian Military

Sources (6) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]

  • Damage caused by alleged Ukrainian shelling of Lyptsy on March 17, 2022. (Image posted by Izvestiya)

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the village of Lyptsy (Липці), for which the generic coordinates are: 50.207362, 36.421385. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Ukrainian Military Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    Ukrainian Military
  • Ukrainian Military position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Likely strike
  • Strike type
    Artillery
  • Strike target
    Healthcare facility
  • Civilian harm reported
    Yes
  • Civilians reported killed
    1 – 4
  • (1 child1–2 women)
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Airwars civilian harm grading
    Fair
    Reported by two or more credible sources, with likely or confirmed near actions by a belligerent.
  • Suspected attacker
    Ukrainian Military
  • Suspected target
    Russian Military

Sources (6) [ collapse]