Research

All major publications from Airwars’ documentation, research, investigations and policy teams

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44948 http://syria.mil.ru/photo/gallery.htm?id=27368@cmsPhotoGallery
20 Aug, 2025
Research, Update
Syria

Airwars publishes final of 5,000 civilian harm incidents from Russian actions in Syria

Nine-year project involved tracking of thousands of strikes, and the deaths of up to 25,000 civilians
113049
1 Aug, 2024
Update
Syria

New Airwars and White Helmets project launched

Interactive map documents Syrian earthquake rescue operations alongside emergency airstrike response
92811
27 Mar, 2024
Update
Ukraine

Airwars wins Sigma data journalism award

Recognition for project tracking Russian Shahed drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians
92811
airwars.org
8 Sep, 2023
Investigations

A year of the Shahed

How Russia turned to a cheap Iranian-made suicide drone to terrorise civilians and hit infrastructure across Ukraine
92813
1 Sep, 2023
Visualisation
Ukraine

Reported Shahed drone launches in Ukraine: August 2022-September 2023

Mapping every reported Shahed launch into Ukraine between September 13, 2022 and August 30, 2023
89694 A still from the Russian Ministry of Defence shows a soldier in Ukraine launching reconnaissance drones
6 Jul, 2023
Investigations
Ukraine

The new Russian drone linked to Iran-backed factory

Airwars/FT investigations shines light on secretive Alabuga 'special economic zone'
89215
5 Jul, 2023
Research
Ukraine

Документування паттернів завдання шкоди цивільному населенню в Харкові: Методологічна записка

Методологічна записка Airwars пояснює підхід до документування паттернів шкоди цивільним у Харкові
89538 Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Bucha, where he talked to local residents and journalists. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the city of Bucha in the Kyiv region, where mass killings of civilians took place during the occupation by Russian troops.
20 Jun, 2023
Investigations
Ukraine

Will German electronics end up in Russian drones?

German tech parts found their way to Russian military drones despite sanctions, flowing through shadowy networks of middlemen and shell companies
89362
airwars.org
29 May, 2023
Report

Annual report – 2022/23

Our work in 2022-2023
89151
18 May, 2023
Update
Ukraine

Оприлюднено інтерактивну базу даних заподіяної цивільному населенню шкоди у битві за Харків

Airwars запускає інтерактивну базу даних про цивільні жертви в битві за Харків, виявляючи 275-438 загиблих від вибухової зброї (лют-трав 2022)
89221
18 May, 2023
Research
Ukraine

Характер шкоди, завданої цивільному населенню внаслідок дій Росії в Харківській області згідно з повідомленнями місцевих джерел

Airwars задокументувала 275-438 смертей цивільних у Харківській області лютий-травень 2022 від російської вибухової зброї
89470
18 May, 2023
Policy, Research
Ukraine

Patterns of civilian harm from alleged Russian actions in Kharkiv oblast

Russian forces killed hundreds of Kharkiv civilians during the 2022 invasion, research finds
89215
18 May, 2023
Research
Ukraine

Documenting patterns of harm in Kharkiv: Methodology note

How we're applying our methodology
89151
18 May, 2023
Update
Ukraine

Battle of Kharkiv interactive civilian harm database launched

Interactive database documenting civilian harm in the Battle of Kharkiv
89234
17 May, 2023
Visualisation
Ukraine

Civilian harm in the Battle of Kharkiv

Highest rates of civilian harm found in the city of Saltivskyi
193405
17 May, 2023
Visualisation
Ukraine

Reported civilian deaths Russian actions in the Battle of Kharkiv in Ukraine

Database tracks casualties in Kharkiv during Russia's 2022 invasion
85070
28 Sep, 2022
Visualisation
Syria

Reported civilian deaths from Russian Military strikes in Syria

Civilian deaths peak in 2017
85059
6 Sep, 2022
Visualisation
Syria

Russian Military in Syria Casualty Map

Russia began its military engagement in Syria in support of the Assad government on September 30th 2015, in a campaign dominated by intense airstrikes, and later also by artillery actions. While Moscow initially claimed to be targeting so-called Islamic State, it soon became clear that rebel-held areas of Syria were its main focus. The campaign […]
83810
13 Jun, 2022
Investigations
Syria

A year on, Airwars investigation into Afrin hospital attack reveals crucial details

A horrifying attack on a hospital in the Syrian city of Afrin left 19 people dead – and the perpetrators are still unknown.
82449
4 May, 2022
Investigations, Policy
Ukraine

Counting the Dead in Ukraine

A longstanding mechanism for verifying casualties of the Ukraine conflict have been subsumed by the scale of carnage since Russia’s February invasion.
82622
12 Apr, 2022
Investigations
Ukraine

Anatomy of a Russian cluster munition strike

Airwars examined a single Russian cluster munition strike on a blood donation centre and hospital, which may have caused a 350 metre span of damage, in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
82566
7 Apr, 2022
Investigations
Ukraine

Counting the casualties in Ukraine – an interview with the UN Monitoring Mission

Why is the United Nations figure for the number of civilians killed in Ukraine so much lower than other estimates? Uladzimir Shcherbau, head of the UN civilian casualty monitoring team in the country,
82612
7 Apr, 2022
Policy
Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Palestinian territories, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen

Five takeaways from the first day of EWIPA negotiations

The shadow of the Ukraine conflict loomed large over the first day of the informal UN-backed consultations on a political declaration on restricting the use of wide area effect explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA), currently underway in Geneva. Delegates from more than 65 nations have gathered to fine tune the language of the political […]
82471
24 Mar, 2022
Research
Syria

Patterns of civilian harm from Russia’s military actions in Syria (2015-2022)

Since the beginning of Russia’s military intervention in Syria in 2015, Airwars has tracked, documented and preserved every local allegation of civilian harm resulting from Russian actions – over 4,000 individual incidents from 61,915 unique sources. We have collected 11,181 names of civilians reported killed, and identified 1,383 family members killed in the same incidents. […]
86371
22 Mar, 2022
Investigations, Policy
Syria, Ukraine

How Russia is using tactics from the Syrian playbook in Ukraine

Entire settlements reduced to rubble, attacks on civilian targets and the bombing of refugee exit routes were all part of Moscow’s brutal Syria campaign
82452
15 Mar, 2022
Investigations
Ukraine

Civilian status in the Ukraine conflict: a rough guide

Do citizens who take up arms to resist Russian invasion lose protected status? A layperson's guide to the lines between civilians, militants and soldier.
82341
3 Mar, 2022
Investigations
Ukraine

Airwars launches interactive Ukraine population density map

The map is designed for researchers seeking to understand how heavily populated Ukrainian neighbourhoods targeted by Russia are
82128
22 Feb, 2022
Policy
Syria

Why a Russian war in Ukraine would be particularly deadly for civilians

On February 21st Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would recognise the independence of two separatist regions inside Ukraine, with Russian troops reportedly moving there – steps widely seen as edging towards a full conflict. If Russia does, as has been predicted, invade part or all of Ukraine in the coming days, there are reasons […]
79010
30 Sep, 2021
Research
Syria

After six years of Russian airstrikes in Syria, still no accountability for civilian deaths

To mark the sixth anniversary of Russia’s military intervention in Syria, Airwars is highlighting just five of the countless civilian harm events that characterise Russian involvement in the conflict. Overall since 2015, we have identified 4,615 incidents where Russia is alleged to have caused civilian deaths or injuries. This September alone, we estimate that ten […]
69249
30 Sep, 2020
Update
Syria

Syria’s civilians pay high price for years of foreign military interventions

In 1996, the US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was asked by reporter Lesley Stahl about sanctions against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq: “We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?” Stahl asked. The Secretary of State responded: […]