Research

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

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140 posts
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
27 Mar, 2024
Update
Ukraine

Airwars wins Sigma data journalism award

Recognition for project tracking Russian Shahed drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians
19 Feb, 2024
Visualisation
Syria

Reported White Helmets incidents in earthquake affected areas, Syria, 2023

Mapping all White Helmets first responder incidents in the months following the devastating February 2023 earthquake in Syria and Turkey
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
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'
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
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
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)
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
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
18 May, 2023
Research
Ukraine

Documenting patterns of harm in Kharkiv: Methodology note

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

Battle of Kharkiv interactive civilian harm database launched

Interactive database documenting civilian harm in the Battle of Kharkiv
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.
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.
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
7 Apr, 2022
Investigations
Ukraine

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

Why is the UN figure for the number of civilians killed in Ukraine so much lower than other estimates? An interview with Uladzimir Shcherbau head of the UN civilian casualty monitoring unit in Ukraine
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. […]
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.
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
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 […]
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 […]
22 Dec, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – November 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring Civilian harm from foreign military action in all tracked conflicts have remained low, with little change observed in November compared to previous months. In Syria, Russian actions have decreased from October. It has also been a quieter month for US-led actions in Syria, although reports of US-led strikes on Iranian forces in […]
7 Dec, 2020
Research

Airwars Bi-monthly assessment – September & October 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring The months of September and October 2020 saw a flurry of activity from Airwars. Starting with the launch of new interactive mapping of reported civilian harm during the recent siege of Tripoli; through to our major joint report with PAX examining the civilian impact of the use of explosive weapons in cities; […]
23 Oct, 2020
Update
Libya

Libya’s rival governments agree surprise ceasefire deal

The two most important parties to the conflict in Libya, the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA), agreed on October 23rd to an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations. The landmark deal – which took many Libya analysts by surprise – could possibly […]
29 Sep, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – August 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring While civilian harm from foreign actions in the conflicts monitored by Airwars mostly decreased during August, Ankara’s continuing air and ground campaign against Kurdish militants led to the worst reported civilian harm tally in northern Iraq from Turkish action since 2015. Civilian harm incidents involving Russia in Syria (already at a low […]
25 Aug, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – July 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring July 2020 saw a continuation of a trend observed the month before, with foreign action in Syria slowly increasing, particularly by Russia. Meanwhile, the US-led Coalition continued its operations against both ISIS and Iranian-backed groups in Syria, though at a seemingly lower intensity. In Iraq, ISIS’s insurgency had slightly increased in tempo, […]
5 Aug, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – June 2020

Major Conflict Monitoring June 2020 saw a slight resurgence in foreign action in Syria, with sporadic Russian strikes being reported in Idlib; and with the US-led Coalition continuing its operations against Iranian-backed groups in Syria. In Iraq, ISIS’s insurgency has decreased significantly as Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) have increased the tempo of their own Counter-Terrorism […]
29 Jun, 2020
Research

Airwars monthly assessment – May 2020

The ceasefire in Idlib between Russia and Turkey has continued to hold for the most part. But Libya's conflict continues to rage, with the Turkish-backed GNA gaining the upper hand in recent advances.
22 Jun, 2020
Update
Syria

Ongoing ceasefire between Russia and Turkey brings respite for Syrian civilians

Civilians are continuing to benefit from a months-long ceasefire in northern Syria, which has seen casualty numbers sharply fall to levels last seen in the early months of the civil war. Experts remain divided however, on how long this pause in fighting will last – and what it means for Syria and its divided people. […]
8 Jun, 2020
Update
Libya

In lightning advance, GNA reverses 14 months of Haftar’s Libya gains

In an extraordinary reversal, the opposition Libyan National Army (LNA) – believed until recently to be the dominant military power in Libya today – has been routed from much of its western territory in just a few weeks. Retreating LNA forces abandoned tanks, attack helicopters and other advanced weaponry as they fled the Government of […]