2023

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 158 missiles and drones in the largest air attack of the war, and Ukrainian officials put the toll at 41 killed, 17 of them in Kyiv, with a maternity ward in Dnipro among the buildings damaged; Russia's UN ambassador said the strikes targeted only military infrastructure. ^[1] A strike on central Belgorod killed at least 21 people, including three children, Russia's emergencies ministry said, and Russia called it a terrorist attack by Kyiv before striking Kharkiv in what it called a response, injuring at least 22 people according to Ukraine's National Police. ^[1][3] Debris from a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv injured 53 people, the mayor said, strikes on Kherson burned down Ukrainian Red Cross and NGO aid warehouses, and the UN said 15 aid workers had been killed in Ukraine in 2023. ^[1][2][3] WHO recorded attacks affecting health facilities in Kharkiv and Pokrovsk. ^[1][2] The UK defence ministry said Russian forces likely controlled most of ruined Marinka, and a Ukrainian military spokesman said Russian forces had advanced 1.5 to 2 kilometres in places around Avdiivka since 10 October at heavy cost. ^[1] Ukraine's air force commander said his forces destroyed the landing ship Novocherkassk at Feodosia, which Russia said was damaged, and a cyberattack claimed by a Russian hacker group knocked out Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile operator. ^[1][2] EU leaders decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said verified civilian deaths since the invasion had passed 10,000, including more than 560 children, with more than 18,500 injured, and that from August to October 86 percent of verified civilian casualties were in government-controlled territory. ^[1][2] Strikes on central Kherson hit a hospital and an ambulance, killing and injuring civilians including health workers, according to the UN humanitarian coordinator, who citing WHO said more than 1,300 attacks on health care had been verified in Ukraine since February 2022. ^[1] The UN warned that strikes on power, gas, water and hospitals were putting front-line communities at risk as winter began, and the largest drone attack of the war so far, 75 drones mainly at Kyiv, left nearly 200 buildings in the capital without power, Ukrainian officials said. ^[1][2] A strike on a civilian ship entering Pivdennyi port killed a port pilot, the UN said, and overnight strikes on Odesa damaged the Fine Arts Museum and injured eight people, according to Ukraine's interior minister. ^[1][2] The last workers were evacuated from the Avdiivka coke plant as Russian assaults continued, and Ukraine said it struck the Zalyv shipyard in Kerch, while Russia's defence ministry said one ship was damaged. ^[1][2] Commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi described the war as a stalemate entering a positional phase, a description President Zelensky rejected. Polish hauliers blocked three border crossings with Ukraine, and Ukraine's ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said prisoner exchanges were not taking place because Russia did not want them. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

A missile hit a wake in the village of Hroza, killing 59 civilians; the UN monitoring mission found no military target nearby and reasonable grounds to believe Russia carried out the strike, while Russia's UN representative called the gathering a legitimate military target. ^[1] UN monitors said more than 1,000 civilians were killed in the six months to July, almost six deaths a day, and documented torture and ill-treatment of civilians and prisoners of war by Russian authorities. ^[1] Missiles killed five people in an apartment block in Zaporizhzhia and workers at a postal depot near Kharkiv, where the toll rose to eight, according to regional officials, and WHO recorded attacks on health care in Kramatorsk Raion. ^[1][2][3] Russian forces launched a large assault to encircle Avdiivka, where AFP reported about 2,000 of 31,000 pre-war residents remained. ^[1] Ukrainian forces crossed to the Russian-held east bank of the Dnipro in Kherson oblast and entered the village of Krynky, according to geolocated footage analysed by the Institute for the Study of War. ^[1] Russian drones hit grain storage in Izmail district, a drone attack set fire to the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar region, and the Leiden dataset records damage to the gas pipeline and telecom cables between Finland and Estonia. ^[1][2][3] Russia's parliament voted to revoke its ratification of the nuclear test ban treaty, and Putin said hand grenade fragments had been found in the bodies of those killed in the Prigozhin crash. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

A strike on an outdoor market in Kostiantynivka killed at least 16 people, Ukrainian officials said; Zelensky called it a deliberate Russian attack, while the head of the UN monitoring mission confirmed the deaths without naming who carried it out. ^[1] The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said over 9,500 civilians had been killed and more than 17,000 injured since the invasion, and that the true toll was likely higher. ^[1][2] A strike on Lviv burned down a Caritas-Spes warehouse holding about 300 tonnes of aid, which the UN humanitarian coordinator described as a Russian airstrike, and WHO recorded attacks affecting health facilities in Beryslav and Odesa. ^[1][2][3] Russia fired 43 cruise missiles in the first mass strike on Ukraine's energy system in six months, Ukrenergo said, and the UN counted the 21st attack on Ukrainian ports since the grain deal ended. ^[1][2] Ukraine struck Black Sea Fleet sites in Crimea, including the Sevastopol shipyard, an air defence system near Yevpatoria and the fleet headquarters, where its special operations forces claimed 34 officers including the commander were killed; Russia's defence ministry then released video it said showed the commander at a meeting. ^[1][2][3] The UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said it found widespread and systematic torture by Russian armed forces in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, and called on Ukraine to investigate a few cases of violations by its own forces. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

Two missiles struck central Pokrovsk about 40 minutes apart, killing 10 people, among them a senior rescue officer, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said, and a missile hit the main square and drama theatre in Chernihiv, killing seven, including a 6-year-old girl, according to Ukrainian officials. ^[1][2] The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission had verified 9,511 civilians killed and 17,206 injured since the invasion by late August, a minimum, and WHO recorded attacks affecting health facilities in Kherson and Lyman. ^[1][2][3][4] Russian drones damaged nearly 40,000 tonnes of grain at the Danube port of Izmail, Ukraine's infrastructure minister said, and a Russian patrol ship fired warning shots at and boarded a cargo ship bound for Izmail. ^[1][2] Ukraine announced temporary routes for civilian ships, not agreed with Russia, and the first vessel to use them left Odesa carrying more than 30,000 tonnes of cargo. ^[1][2] Ukraine said it had retaken Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia oblast, sea drones attacked the Novorossiysk naval base, where a Ukrainian official said a landing ship was badly damaged, and drones damaged transport aircraft at Pskov airfield, TASS reported. ^[1][2][3] Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died with all 10 people on board when a private jet crashed in Tver region; Kremlin spokesman Peskov called suggestions that the Kremlin ordered it an absolute lie, and the Pentagon said its initial assessment was that he was likely killed. ^[1] Saudi Arabia hosted talks in Jeddah on Ukraine's peace proposals without Russia, and 22 Ukrainian soldiers returned in what was the last prisoner exchange of 2023. ^[1][2]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

A missile strike on an apartment building in Lviv killed 10 people, the mayor said, and two missiles killed six people, including a child, in Kryvyi Rih, according to the regional governor. ^[1][2] WHO recorded attacks affecting health facilities in Kryvyi Rih and Dnipro. ^[1][2] Russia ended its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, saying its part of the deal had not been implemented, and UN Secretary-General Guterres said the deal had moved over 32 million tonnes of food from Ukrainian ports. ^[1] An attack on the Crimean Bridge killed two civilians, which Russian officials said was carried out by Ukrainian sea drones, and Russian strikes on Odesa and Chornomorsk that followed destroyed 60,000 tonnes of grain, Ukraine's agriculture minister said; Kremlin spokesman Peskov linked them to the bridge attack. ^[1][2] A missile strike on central Odesa killed one person and damaged the Transfiguration Cathedral, and a drone attack on the Danube port of Reni destroyed grain warehouses. ^[1][2] Russia and Ukraine each declared that ships bound for the other's Black Sea ports would be treated as carrying military cargo. ^[1] The United States decided to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine, and NATO leaders in Vilnius said Ukraine's future was in NATO but set no timeline, which Zelensky called unprecedented and absurd. ^[1][2]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

The Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro was destroyed, flooding about 600 square km of Kherson oblast and forcing evacuations on both banks; Ukraine's interior minister later put the death toll in Ukrainian-held areas at 31. ^[1][2] Responsibility for the dam is disputed: Zelenskyy blamed Russian forces, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it deliberate sabotage by Ukraine. Russian missiles killed 12 people in Kryvyi Rih, at least nine at a restaurant in Kramatorsk, and three, including two children, in Kyiv, according to local officials. ^[1][2][3] A UN report listed Russian forces for killing and maiming children in Ukraine, verifying 477 children killed in 2022, and WHO recorded attacks on health care in Izium and Chuhuiv. ^[1][2][3] Analysts said Ukraine's summer counteroffensive had begun in Zaporizhzhia and southern Donetsk, and Ukraine said it had retaken Blahodatne and Makarivka, which Russia's defence ministry disputed. ^[1][2] Wagner forces seized military sites in Rostov-on-Don and drove towards Moscow before a halt brokered by Belarus's Alexander Lukashenko, and Putin called the rebellion betrayal and treason. ^[1] An African leaders' peace mission visited Kyiv during a missile attack that Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said showed Russia wanted more war, and EU ambassadors agreed an 11th sanctions package aimed at circumvention. ^[1][3]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

Russian shelling hit a supermarket and a railway station in Kherson region, killing at least 21 people and wounding 48, Zelenskyy said, and a missile strike destroyed a clinic in Dnipro, killing two civilians according to Ukrainian officials. ^[1][2] WHO recorded attacks affecting health facilities in Zhytomyr, and Ukraine's commander-in-chief said all 18 missiles fired at Kyiv in one attack, including six Kinzhals, were shot down, with three people injured according to the mayor. ^[1][2] After threatening to pull Wagner out of Bakhmut over ammunition, Prigozhin said the city had been completely taken and Russia's defence ministry announced its capture, a claim Ukraine disputed, saying its troops still held part of the western outskirts. ^[1][2] The Kremlin said drones had targeted it in an attempt on Putin's life, a claim Zelenskyy denied and the US said it could not validate, and drones later struck Moscow in an attack Russian officials blamed on Ukraine. ^[1][4] Armed groups of Russian nationals crossed from Ukraine into Belgorod oblast, where Russian authorities said two civilians died and claimed more than 70 attackers were killed; Ukraine denied involvement. ^[1] Mediazona and Meduza estimated from Russia's probate registry that about 47,000 Russian combatants had been killed, within a range of 40,000 to 55,000. ^[1] Russia agreed to stay in the Black Sea grain deal for another 60 days, and UN Secretary-General Guterres said it had let more than 30 million tonnes of grain and foodstuffs leave Ukrainian ports. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

A Russian missile hit an apartment block in Uman, killing 23 people including children, Kyiv Independent reported, and missiles struck residential buildings in Sloviansk, killing 15 according to Donetsk's governor. ^[1][2] WHO recorded attacks affecting health facilities in Uman, Kherson and Pavlohrad. ^[1][2][3] Russia gave Maria Lvova-Belova, named in an ICC warrant, a platform at an informal Security Council meeting, while Ukrainian officials said nearly 8,000 children had been deported, a number Al Jazeera said was hard to verify. ^[1] Wagner raised a flag over Bakhmut city hall and Prigozhin claimed the city legally taken while acknowledging Ukrainian forces remained in western districts, and the Kremlin said Putin had visited command posts in occupied Kherson and Luhansk regions. ^[1][2] Russia's defence ministry said 106 Russian servicemen were freed in a prisoner exchange, and Ukraine said Russia released 100 Ukrainians. ^[1] Poland and Hungary banned imports of Ukrainian grain and other foods, and the European Commission said unilateral bans were not acceptable. ^[1] Xi Jinping and Zelenskyy held their first conversation since the invasion, after which Zelenskyy said there could be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

Russia fired 81 missiles, including six Kinzhals, killing five people in a residential area of Lviv oblast and one in Dnipropetrovsk oblast according to regional governors, and the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was cut from the grid for hours. ^[1] Police and volunteers evacuated civilians from Chasiv Yar and nearby towns under artillery fire, and WHO recorded attacks affecting health facilities in Kostyantynivka and Kherson. ^[1][2][3] In Bakhmut, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed about half the city as Ukraine's commanders chose to keep defending it, and he accused Russia's defence ministry of withholding ammunition. ^[1][2] The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and children's commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over the alleged unlawful deportation of children; Russia opened a criminal case against the prosecutor and judges, and Dmitry Medvedev said it was possible to imagine a hypersonic missile fired at the court. ^[1][2] Putin visited annexed Crimea and occupied Mariupol a day after the warrant, and later said Russia would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus while keeping control of them. ^[1][2] The Black Sea grain deal was renewed, with Russia saying it agreed to 60 days and Ukraine saying 120. ^[1] EU ministers backed a 2 billion euro plan to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells within 12 months. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

A year into the war UNHCR said more than 13 million people remained uprooted, including nearly 8 million refugees recorded across Europe and over 5 million displaced inside Ukraine. ^[1] The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission had verified 8,006 civilians killed and 13,287 injured since the invasion by mid-February, which it called a minimum. ^[1][2] A missile hit an apartment block in Kramatorsk, killing three people and injuring 21 according to Donetsk oblast police, and an attack of at least 70 missiles hit power plants in six regions, forcing emergency shutdowns; Moldova said a missile crossed its airspace. ^[1][2] WHO recorded attacks on health care including a health facility and health transport in Orikhovo-Vasylivka. ^[1] A Russian offensive on Vuhledar stalled after about two weeks of failed attempts to take the town, the DFRLab said. ^[1] President Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv and announced about $500m in aid, and Putin suspended Russia's participation in the New START treaty, accusing the West of involvement in attempts to attack Russian strategic air bases. ^[1][2] On the anniversary the UN General Assembly voted 141 to 7 to demand Russia's withdrawal, China published a 12-point paper calling for a ceasefire and talks, and the US imposed a 200% tariff on Russian aluminium. ^[1][2][3]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.

A Russian missile destroyed part of an apartment block in Dnipro, killing 46 people and injuring 80 according to the regional military administration, and a missile and drone wave after the Western tank pledges killed 11 people, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. ^[1][2] WHO recorded attacks on health care including health transport in Nova Kakhovka and a health facility in Ochakiv. ^[1][2] A Ukrainian strike hit Russian troop quarters in occupied Makiivka on New Year's Day; Russia's defence ministry put its dead at 89 and blamed soldiers' mobile phone use, while Ukraine's claim of about 400 killed was not independently verified. ^[1] Russia's defence ministry claimed Soledar on 13 January while Ukraine said fighting continued, and later in the month Ukraine confirmed its forces had withdrawn; Russia put chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov in direct command amid friction with the Wagner group. ^[1][2][3] Putin ordered a 36-hour Orthodox Christmas ceasefire, which Ukraine did not agree to, and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said a truce was possible only if Russia left the occupied territories. ^[1] Germany said it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks and allow other countries to re-export them, and the US said it would send 31 Abrams tanks. ^[1] The Leiden dataset records a plot to sabotage arms deliveries to Ukraine through Poland in early 2023, which the Washington Post reported Poland foiled. ^[1]

Written from the records it cites; every figure appears in a cited record.