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112-513: Since March 2022, it has been under Russian occupation . Polohy is located on the left bank of the Konka river, at the intersection of several railways, making it a significant railway junction. The Polohy railway station  [ uk ] is located there. Across the Konka river is a village, also called Polohy  [ uk ] . Polohy was established in 1887 after the construction of

224-720: A street protest against military occupation . The protestors marched and used their bodies to block a convoy of Russian military vehicles. On 4 March 2022, the former leader of the Anti-Maidan of Zaporizhzhia, Vladimir Rogov , who calls himself "a member of the Main Council of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military-Civilian administration of the Zaporozhye", posted part of the program of "comprehensive financial and economic measures for

336-582: A swimming pool building and a vehicle convoy; shelling then struck the Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre that was being used as an air raid shelter with a large number of civilians inside, the building was reduced to rubble. The bomb shelter in the basement of the theatre survived the bombing, but many people were still trapped underneath the burning rubble. A member of the Ukrainian parliament from Mariupol, Dmytro Gurin, said that

448-547: A 9N123 cluster munition. The 9N123 contains fifty 9N24 individual submunitions, which each split into 316 bomblets. HRW based its analysis on contacts with the hospital and municipal administrations and multiple photographic evidence. HRW called for Russian forces to stop making "unlawful attacks with weapons that indiscriminately kill and maim". The press secretary of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, denied Russian involvement, saying that this type of ammunition

560-470: A Russian missile struck an apartment block in Kryvyi Rih, killing at least six civilians, including a 10-year-old girl and her mother. On 28 August 2024, local authorities said that Kryvyi Rih was struck by a Russian missile which hit civilian infrastructure. Eight people were reported to have been wounded by the attack. As it was struck, Kryvyi Rih was observing an official day of mourning for an attack

672-578: A Russian source. Ukraine accused the Russian Armed Forces of deliberately bombing the theatre while it was sheltering civilians. Russia first claimed that the reason the theatre was bombed was because it was "being used as a base by the Ukrainian military", and then denied the allegations and instead accused the Azov Battalion of blowing up the building, Both Russian claims have been refuted by independent investigation. The theatre

784-540: A Ukrainian estimate, only 3% of all Russian missiles, drones and bombs hit military targets, while 97% hit civilian targets. By June 2023, UNDP estimated 1.5 million homes in Ukraine were either damaged or destroyed in the Russo-Ukrainian War. By comparison, approximately 2 million homes were damaged or destroyed in Ukraine during World War II . Reports on the use of cluster bombs raised concerns about

896-469: A child, and wounding 24. On 9 August 2024, a Kostiantynivka shopping centre was struck by a Russian air-to-surface missile in the middle of the day. Ukrainian authorities reported at least 14 deaths and 43 injuries. On 3 March 2022, Russian forces bombed the central hospital in Izium , Eight people died and the hospital sustained "significant damage". On 8 March, the same recently refurbished hospital in

1008-446: A curfew imposed from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am. On 14 March Ukrayinska Pravda reported that Russian forces had prevented new protests by blocking off the central square of Melitopol. It also said "Two activists were abducted and taken away in an unknown direction." On 16 March, Fedorov was freed from captivity. Some Ukrainian officials said he was freed in a "special operation". Zelenskyy's press aide Daria Zarivna however later said he

1120-608: A densely populated neighbourhood in the city for nearly 15 hours, causing significant destruction. Deputy mayor Sergei Orlov reported that "at least hundreds of people [were] dead." On 16 March the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian forces continued to commit war crimes in Mariupol including "targeting civilian infrastructure". On 18 March, Lieutenant General James Hockenhull , Chief of Defence Intelligence for

1232-599: A dual-currency zone was introduced in the occupied territory and the coat of arms of Aleksandrovsk from the times of the Russian Empire were installed, with which they began to issue new license plates with the signature "TVR" (a reference to the Taurida Governorate ; old numbers are used, but with a "TVR" sticker over the Ukrainian flag ). Later a report revealed that Balitsky still sometimes used

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1344-716: A hundred thatched huts and dugouts" in the village, and it had a total population of around 700. The population of the village took part in the Russian Revolution of 1905 , demonstrating for workers' rights and going on strike . The Bolsheviks took over the village in January 1918 during the Russian Civil War . However, in March the same year, Polohy was easily captured by the Central Powers during

1456-404: A large number of families...who did not support the ‘special military operation’”. He claimed that the deportation of families was good for them because otherwise "things I'd rather not talk about" would have to happen to them, likely alluding to Russian occupation forces summarily executing Ukrainian civilians. In 2023, the occupying Russian Zaporizhzhia Military–Civilian Administration divided

1568-541: A legal case regarding the attack. The Chernihiv Oblast branch of the Security Service of Ukraine also started an investigation. On 19 August 2023 at about 11:30 Saturday morning seven civilians were killed, dozens hospitalized, and over a 150 injured after Russian Armed Forces launched a 9М727 Iskander cruise missile and hit the Taras Shevchenko Music and Drama Theater at Krasna Square ,

1680-493: A meal when the missile struck, including three Colombians. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed the strike targeted a "temporary command post" of the Ukrainian army. Ukraine's prosecutor general said the missile has high precision , "which means Russia was deliberately targeting civilians". Ukraine's Security Service later arrested a local man who allegedly helped co-ordinate the strike with the Russian military. On 9 July 2022,

1792-425: A military train using a single Iskander missile , and that the attack had killed 200 Ukrainian soldiers. According to an Associated Press reporter on site, there was no visible indication that Ukrainian soldiers were among the victims. International legal experts said that the attack might qualify as a war crime if civilians were the target. There were at least 7,395 civilian casualties (of which 3,511 killed) in

1904-518: A missile strike on two residential buildings in Chasiv Yar was carried out by the Russian Armed Forces at 21:17 local time. At least 48 people were killed, Due to the impact, a five-story residential building partially collapsed. Two entrances were completely destroyed. The strike was alleged, including by Donetsk Oblast governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, to have been performed with "Uragan", a self-propelled 220 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in

2016-509: A problem for residents. While exact population estimates are uncertain, the Ukraine Crisis Media Center said that it was certain at least half of the pre-invasion population had fled by May 2022. Russian forces heavily fortified areas near the city in anticipation of the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive . In May 2023, reports from ordinary residents of Polohy as well as the exiled mayor Yuriy Konovalenko said that Russia

2128-418: A railway that connected Berdiansk with Yekaterinoslav . The city specifically celebrates 17 September as the date of the city's founding. By 1890, houses for workers had been built in the area. In 1894, the railway station was built, contributing to the growth of the village. By 1904, when a second railway line was built that crossed through the village, Polohy became a railway hub. In 1905, there were "about

2240-478: A residential building in Ukraine in the last six months. A three-day period of mourning was declared in Dnipro. Russian missiles struck residential buildings in the southern central city of Kryvyi Rih , Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown, several times. On 13 June 2023, Russian cruise missiles struck an apartment block and civilian warehouses in Kryvyi Rih, killing thirteen people. On 31 July 2023,

2352-443: A result of the airstrike. On 4 May, Associated Press published an investigation with evidence pointing to 600 dead in the airstrike. Many survivors estimated around 200 people–including rescuers–escaping through the main exit or one side entrance; the other side and the back were crushed. Estimates of civilian deaths vary, ranging from at least a dozen (Amnesty International) to 600 (Associated Press). At least eleven are confirmed by

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2464-430: A shelter to get water and a family of two parents and three children were burned alive in their car. The locations hit were residential buildings and a playground, dispersed between Industrialnyi and Shevchenkivskyi District . Explosions in the city were recorded as late as 2:23 PM. On 1 March, a shell damaged a boarding school for blind children. As of 4 March 122 civilians including five children had been killed in

2576-481: A threat to civilians. On 24 February 2022, 10:30 (UTC), Vuhledar was attacked with an 9M79 Tochka missile , which landed next to a hospital and killed four civilians and injured ten. Amnesty International described it as "irrefutable evidence of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law" by Russian forces. Human Rights Watch (HRW) found that the Vuhledar hospital attack used

2688-524: A war crime had occurred and to hold to account the people responsible. The HRW investigation included telephone interviews with three witnesses and two other Chernihiv residents, and analysis of 22 videos and 12 photographs. The witnesses interviewed by HRW stated that they were unaware of military targets or operations in the neighbourhood. Matilda Bogner, Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine , stated that

2800-415: A wreckage, walls [had] collapsed, rubble cover[ed] medical equipment, windows [were] blown out and shattered glass [was] everywhere". On 10 March, local authorities stated that one girl and two other people had been killed in the bombing, one of whom was a woman at a late stage of pregnancy; neither she nor her unborn child survived. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that people had "hidden" from

2912-648: Is among the many Ukrainian heritage and cultural sites destroyed during the invasion. The attack was classified as a war crime by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Amnesty International. On 8 April 2022, at 10:24 and 10:25, media affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic published videos showing a pair of missiles being launched from Shakhtarsk , a city under separatist control. At approximately 10:30, two missiles hit near

3024-669: Is used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine . On 8 July 2023, Russian cluster bombs launched by a BM-30 Smerch struck a residential area of Lyman , in Donetsk Oblast. Nine civilians were killed and nineteen wounded. Witnesses said residents "had gathered to trade dairy products and fresh produce from their gardens, as they did most mornings". The use of cluster bombs in areas with civilians "makes an attack indiscriminate, in violation of international humanitarian law ". Between 1–2 March 2022, Russian artillery reportedly shelled

3136-695: The 1918 Central Powers invasion of Ukraine . Local partisans resisted the occupation, and the occupying forces left the village in November 1918. It was captured by the anti-communist White Army in late December, before being recaptured by the Red Army on 5 February 1919. Continued fighting took place over Polohy throughout the war, involving Makhnovites , the Army of Wrangel , and South Russia , until an eventual Bolshevik victory in August 1920. On 7 October 1923,

3248-718: The All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee declared the establishment of Polohy Raion inside Berdiansk Okruha  [ uk ] of Yekaterinoslav Governorate , with its administrative center in Polohy. Polohy received the status of urban-type settlement in October 1928. From 1928 to 1937, Polohy carried the name of Chubarivka , after the Soviet politician Vlas Chubar . Polohy received city status in 1938. During World War II , Polohy

3360-558: The Battle of Kharkiv , extensive parts of residential areas have been destroyed by Russian shelling. According to a HRW report published on 4 March, on 28 February, at around 10:00 AM, Russian forces fired cluster munitions with Grad rockets into at least three different residential areas in Kharkiv , killing at least nine civilians and injuring another 37. The city's mayor, Ihor Terekhov , said that four people were killed when they left

3472-579: The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen , French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian , British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace , United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Oleksandr Kamyshin , chairman of Ukrainian Railways described the event as "war crimes" and "a crime against humanity" by Russian forces. The Security Service of Ukraine opened criminal proceedings under Article 438 of

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3584-475: The Russian invasion of Ukraine as part of the southern Ukraine campaign . It was administrated under a Russian-controlled military-civilian administration until 30 September 2022, when it was illegally annexed to become an unrecognized federal subject of Russia . On 26 February, the city of Berdiansk fell under Russian control, followed by Russian victory at Melitopol on 1 March. Russian forces besieged

3696-538: The Russian invasion of Ukraine . The city was shelled with Grad rockets and other weapons, heavily damaging many houses. Locals have accused Russian forces of deliberately destroying the city's critical infrastructure. Eyewitness reports from the city have also detailed accounts of Russian soldiers murdering civilians , sacking , abducting local activists, and torturing people in the city. Water and electricity infrastructure has stopped working, as well as internet access and cellular communication. Food insecurity has become

3808-693: The United States Embassy in Kyiv . The incident happened at around 10:00 UTC+3 . Victims of the incident were killed following a blast shot from heavy artillery . These civilians were unarmed and some of them survived the shelling; they were taken to medical facilities by the Chernihiv police. An American citizen was among the dead. Around four hours after the incident, the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor's Office filed

3920-517: The shelling of a market and the mayor's office . Pro-Russian officials blamed Ukraine for the attacks while Ukraine blamed Russia or did not comment on the attacks. On 8 August 2022 the UK Ministry of Defence issued a statement accusing Russia of using anti-personnel PFM-1 scatterable anti-personnel mines along the defensive lines in Donbas, adding that such mines are undiscriminate and pose

4032-608: The 79th Rocket Artillery Brigade, ordered the use 17 cluster bombs, the 300mm Smerch Cluster Rocket, to be used against civilian targets in Kharkiv on 27–28 February. On 13 June Amnesty International published a report on what it called the "relentless campaign of indiscriminate bombardments against Kharkiv" causing "wholesale destruction" in the city from 24 February until late April. The human rights organisation's researchers found fragments of seven cluster munition strikes in different neighbourhoods of Kharkiv and gathered evidence of

4144-607: The Akademika Pavlova metro station. On 24 March 2022, a Russian missile strike hit a shopping mall parking lot near the Akademika Pavlova metro station . At the time, hundreds of people were waiting outside a post office in the mall to obtain humanitarian aid . Six people were killed and at least 15 further were injured. Two further cluster bombings damaged the nearby Holy Trinity Church where volunteers were preparing humanitarian aid. On 15 April 2022 in

4256-592: The Criminal Code. Royal United Services Institute analyst Justin Bronk said that Russia aimed to damage Ukrainian transport infrastructure to make it difficult for Ukrainian forces to move around Donbas. He also suggested that Russia opted for the Tochka-U missile type due to its use by the Ukrainian army, in order to "muddy the waters". The Pentagon highlighted Russian responsibility for the attack, as well as

4368-481: The July airstrike or an earlier attack. On 27 July 2022, thousands of miniature plastic antipersonnel PFM-1 mines were dispersed over civilian areas of the Russian held city of Donetsk by a BM-27 Uragan multiple rocket launcher. This resulted in a number of people being injured, most prominently Semen Pegov , a Russian war blogger calling himself "War Gonzo". The Russian Foreign Ministry and local sources accused

4480-662: The Kharkiv Oblast, according to the Kharkiv Regional Police. Out of an initial population of 1.8 million, only 500,000 people remained in Kharkiv by 7 March. On 18 March, the number of civilians reportedly killed in Kharkiv exceeded 450 as a consequence of the use of cluster munitions and explosive weapons in heavily populated areas of the city. On 24 March a cluster munition attack killed eight people were killed and fifteen were injured while queuing for humanitarian aid together with hundreds of civilians near

4592-549: The Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. On 8 August, Balitsky announced that a referendum on "reunification" with Russia in the region, and signed the order of the Central Election Commission. The commission, according to the statement, began to form as early as July 23. On 8 September 2022, it was announced that referendums would be held in all the occupied territories of Ukraine from 23 to 27 September,

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4704-568: The Russian Federation are trying to illegally create an occupation administration of the city of Melitopol." It appealed to Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova , to launch an investigation into Danylchenko and her party Opposition Bloc for treason. Ukrayinska Pravda reported that the Russian military abducted Melitopol's District Council Chairman Serhiy Priyma and tried to abduct City Council Secretary Roman Romanov. Russian military vehicles were seen announcing via loudspeakers that rallies and demonstrations had been prohibited and that

4816-445: The Russian administration of the region on 30 September 2022. Russia annexed Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 30 September 2022, including parts of the oblast that it did not control at the time. The United Nations General Assembly demanded that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw, and passed a resolution calling on countries not to recognise what it described as an "attempted illegal annexation". Melitopol serves as

4928-409: The Russian forces were firing at a rate of between 600,000 and 1.8 million shells per month. By February 2024, Russia has fired at least 12,000,000 artillery shells against Ukraine. By the end of 2023, Russian forces launched about 7,400 missiles and 3,900 Shahed drone strikes against Ukraine according to Ukrainian military officials. No region in Ukraine was spared from Russian attacks. According to

5040-470: The Russian military exposed the civilian population to unnecessary and disproportionate harm by using cluster bombs and by firing other weapons with wide-area effects into civilian areas, such as missiles, heavy artillery shells and multiple launch rockets. As of 2024, the attacks had resulted in the UN-documented deaths of between 11,000 and estimated 40,000 dead civilians. On 22 April 2022,

5152-442: The Russian military of bombing civilian shelters with cluster munitions during shelling of the city and attacks on Azovstal. According to the mayor of Mariupol, at the end of April, during the two-month siege of the city by Russian troops, more than 20 thousand people died - twice as many than the 2 year occupation of the city during World War II. Oksana Pokalchuk, director of Amnesty International Ukraine, said they were able to prove

5264-498: The Russian seat of administration as Russia does not control Zaporizhzhia. In March 2023, Melitopol became the official capital of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast after the acting head, Yevgeny Balitsky , signed a decree on moving the de jure capital to Melitopol until Zaporizhzhia is captured. Shortly after Russian forces captured Melitopol on 1 March 2022, residents of the city held

5376-602: The Soviet Union. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that they destroyed a "temporary deployment point" of a Ukrainian territorial defence unit. As of 10 July 67 rescue workers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine were trying to help the victims and more than 20 people were still feared to be trapped under the rubble. Rescue and search operations continued until the morning of 14 July 2022. Rescuers dismantled about 525 tons of destroyed elements of

5488-877: The UN reported that of the 2,343 civilian casualties it had been able to document, it could confirm 92.3% of these deaths were as a result of the actions of the Russian armed forces. On 5 July 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Michelle Bachelet , reported that most civilian casualties documented by her office had been caused by the Russian army's use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas, calling it "indisputable". By 30 June 2023, OHCHR assessed that 90.5% of all civilian deaths were caused by such indiscriminate attack, and that 84.2% of them were recorded in Ukrainian-held territory. El País estimated that by March 2023

5600-422: The Ukrainian army of being responsible for their deployment. The so-called "butterfly mines" are banned under the 1997 Ottawa Treaty (signed by Ukraine but not by Russia) due to the high danger they pose to civilians. On 14 April 2023, on Orthodox Christian Good Friday , Russian forces launched eight S-300 missiles at Sloviansk . One struck a five-storey residential building, killing 15 civilians, including

5712-488: The Ukrainian coat of arms of Zaporizhzhia Oblast on documentation. The same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree to simplify provision of Russian passports to residents of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, under the same procedure as the population of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. On 28 July, Meduza reported that temporary departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation had been set up in

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5824-465: The United Kingdom (UK), described "continued targeting of civilians in Mariupol". As of 20 March local authorities have estimated that at least 2,300 people were killed during the siege. On 20 March 2022, Ukrainian authorities announced that Russian troops had bombed an art school in the city where hundreds (about 400) were sheltering. The Mariupol City Council made the announcement through

5936-506: The Zaporizhzhia Oblast in Russian currency within a calendar month. On 23 March 2022, Mayor Fedorov reported that Melitopol was experiencing supply problems with food, medication and fuel, while the Russian military seized businesses, intimidated the local population, and held several journalists. On 25 May, Vladimir Rogov announced that after the complete capture of the region, it would be annexed by Russia. He also said that

6048-600: The administration founded the Pavel Sudoplatov Battalion , a Russian volunteer militia fighting in Ukraine. In spring and summer 2023, Russian forces heavily fortified areas near major cities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast in anticipation of the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive . On 8–10 September 2023, the 2023 Russian elections took place in the occupied Ukrainian territories , which Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov described as "hellish pseudo-elections". During this period, on 9 September, Fedorov reported that

6160-608: The administration. After the 30 September 2022 annexation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Balytskyi was made its governor under Russian law, as of October 4. On 4 March, the city of Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) came under Russian military occupation. Since then, the ZNPP has been the center of an ongoing nuclear safety crisis . Russia has used the plant as a base to hold military equipment and troops, heightening risk of damage to

6272-661: The afternoon hours, during the battle of Kharkiv, the Russian Army fired 9N210/9N235 cluster bombs into the Industrialnyi District, striking a residential area and a playground in the Myru Street. Nine civilians died and 35 were injured, including children. The local hospital received wounded people with pieces of steel rod and shrapnel in their limbs. Overall, the cluster bombs detonated over an area of 700 square metres. Human Rights Watch investigated

6384-472: The attack and concluded that the Russian forces used Smerch cluster munition rockets, which disperse dozens of submunitions or bomblets in the air. As there were no military targets within 400 meters of these strikes and due to the indiscriminate use of these weapons against densely populated areas, HRW described these strikes as possible war crimes. On 13 May, CNN reported that newly collected evidence identified Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlyov commanding

6496-495: The attack as both a war crime and genocide. British prime minister Boris Johnson described the attack as "depraved". Jen Psaki , press secretary of United States president Joe Biden, stated that "It is horrifying to see the ... barbaric use of military force to go after innocent civilians in a sovereign country." Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, described

6608-438: The attack in time, minimising the number of casualties. Deputy Mayor of Mariupol, Sergei Orlov, stated, "We don't understand how it is possible in modern life to bomb [a] children's hospital." Mariupol City Council described the bombing by Russian aircraft as deliberate. Zelenskyy claimed that the attack constituted "proof that the genocide of Ukrainians [was] taking place". Sergei Orlov, deputy mayor of Mariupol, described

6720-541: The attack one woman was hospitalised in critical condition. The following day Reznichenko reported that a man was found dead under the rubble. Another Russian missile strike destroyed an enterprise on the night of 29 November 2022, no casualties were reported. On 14 January 2023 at about 3:30   p.m., a Russian Kh-22 type missile hit a nine-story residential building in Dnipro on the Naberezhna Peremohy St  [ uk ] , Sobornyi District in

6832-465: The bombing "violated the principles of distinction , of proportionality , the rule on feasible precautions and the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks". A bomb crater consistent with a 500 kg bomb was found. FAB-500 bombs were known to be used during the invasion. On 16 March 2022, a Russian attack killed 14 civilians who were waiting in a line for bread in the city, The event was reported by Governor of Chernihiv Oblast Vyacheslav Chaus and

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6944-706: The bombing as a "heinous war crime". Cardinal Secretary of State of the Vatican City Pietro Parolin expressed dismay at the bombing, calling it an "unacceptable attack on civilians". António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, wrote that the attack was "horrific" and that "this senseless violence must stop." On 10 March, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence publicly claimed that

7056-410: The bombing was justified. According to Ukrainska Pravda , foreign minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that the bombing of the hospital was a deliberate action. He stated, "A few days ago, at a UN Security Council meeting, the Russian delegation presented factual information that this maternity hospital had long been taken over by the Azov Battalion and other radicals and that all the women in labour, all

7168-432: The building after being on duty were among the dead. Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to Ukraine's president, said that the strike was "another terrorist attack" and that Russia should be designated a "state sponsor of terrorism" as a result. Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov stated that Russia had killed "over 300 nationalists" in an attack on Chasiv Yar, but did not specify whether or not they were referring to

7280-509: The building. 323 employees of the State Emergency Service and 9 units of equipment were involved. As of 13 July 48 dead were found under the rubble of the building, and nine wounded were rescued as of 12 July. A local resident told The New York Times that there were 10 elderly civilians in the buildings, but that members of the military had come to lodge there two days earlier. Two soldiers who probably took turns sleeping in

7392-529: The city and killed one person, striking close to an apartment building and a kindergarten. On 28 June, Russian forces fired six 3M-14E Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea to Dnipro at around 5:30 local time. One of them hit an Avtodiesel car repair shop, killing a man and a woman. Seven other people, including a six-year-old boy, were injured. Fragments of the Kalibr missile were found afterwards. On

7504-400: The city center. The detonator of the warhead of the missile was configured for air detonation, so all the dead and the vast majority of the injured were from outside the drama theater. According to the acting mayor of the city, the military exhibition held in the building was the likely target. Early reporting indicated five people killed and 42 injured, including 11 children presumably among

7616-403: The city of Enerhodar , home of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant , then captured it on 4 March. They have not taken the oblast's capital city of Zaporizhzhia , however, which remains under Ukrainian government control. In May, the Russian government began offering Russian passports to the region's inhabitants. In July, it issued a decree that extended Russian 2022 war censorship laws to

7728-470: The city was destroyed during shelling, this was followed on 11 March by an attack to a psychiatric hospital. On 15 September 2022, after Ukrainian forces had retaken Izium, several mass graves were discovered of more than 440 bodies buried in a forest northeast of the city. among the dead, some had reportedly died as a result of shelling and airstrikes. Forensic investigations and questioning of witnesses were ongoing as of 16 September 2022. During and after

7840-423: The city. In a separate statement, Human Rights Watch said Russia's military tactics were indiscriminate and caused a disproportionate effect on the civilians in the city. It also warned that going forward, access to the city and preservation of evidence were likely to be issues, given Russia's occupation of the city, and it called for international accountability. Independent media and the Ukrainian side accused

7952-467: The director of the Melitopol Museum of Local History , Leila Ibragimova, was arrested at her home by Russian forces, and was detained in an unknown location. The next day, Melitopol 's mayor, Ivan Fedorov , was abducted by Russian troops for refusing to cooperate with them and continuing to fly a Ukrainian flag in his office. Russian authorities did not comment on Fedorov's disappearance, but

8064-503: The economic development of the regions of Ukraine controlled by the Russian Federation" on his Telegram channel. This program was written in its entirety in the newspapers published by the occupying authorities, as well as on March 9 in the public "Military-Civilian Administration of Melitopol". According to the BBC, the program was written in a complex bureaucratic style like that of other similar documents by Russian authorities. On 10 March,

8176-464: The entire oblast at the time of the referendum, and it was widely dismissed as a sham referendum by international observers. It was also condemned as illegal in international law by the United Nations . On 29 September, Vladimir Putin recognized the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions as independent countries , hours before signing a decree on the annexation of all four regions. At some point,

8288-415: The fighting, largely as a result of the Russian bombing campaigns. City officials reported that up to 21,000 civilians had been killed. On 16 June, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that evidence strongly suggests the Russian armed forces committed serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Mariupol, including the shelling and rocket attacks that destroyed much of

8400-463: The government-controlled territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and 2,035 civilian casualties (of which 467 killed) in the territory controlled by the Russian forces and affiliated groups between February and November 2022. The months-long siege of Mariupol caused a large number of civilian casualties and a few other attacks with many civilian casualties occurred in the oblast. Donetsk itself experienced several attacks with civilian casualties, including

8512-747: The headquarters of United Russia - the Russian ruling party - in Polohy had been blown up. Fedorov alluded to casualties among the occupation authorities, stating on Telegram that "Some went to the hospital, and some went straight to the morgue". Distribution of ethnic groups according to the 2001 Ukrainian census : Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast    Russian-occupied territory    Territory liberated from Russian occupation    Territory never occupied by Russia The ongoing military occupation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( Russian : Запорожская область , romanized :  Zaporozhskaya oblast' ) by Russian forces began on 24 February 2022 during

8624-411: The headquarters of United Russia – the Russian ruling party – in the small city of Polohy was blown up. Fedorov alluded to casualties among the occupation authorities, stating on Telegram that "Some went to the hospital, and some went straight to the morgue". Occupation head Yevgeny Balitsky spoke about the living conditions in an interview. He stated that Russian occupation authorities “expelled

8736-632: The high number of civilian casualties and the long-lasting danger of unexploded ordnance. According to the OHCHR, cluster bombs have been used by Russian armed forces and pro-Russian separatists , and to a lesser degree by Ukrainian armed forces. On 3 March 2022, just after 12:00 (UTC+2), six Russian unguided aerial bombs were filmed falling in a residential area in Chernihiv . Analysis by Amnesty International found that (at least) eight bombs fell. Two schools (No.18 and No.21) and 8 private houses in

8848-463: The hospital that was bombed, Hospital No 3 . On 22 March 2022, Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov was charged under Russia's "fake news" law after he published information about the Russian shelling of a maternity hospital in Mariupol. Under a new law passed on 4 March, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. On 16 March, Ukraine accused Russian forces of shelling civilian areas in Mariupol. Artillery hit numerous locations, including

8960-453: The injured. The estimates went up to 90 injured, including 25 hospitalized, and six dead after a six-year-old child died in the hospital, and then seven dead after another women's body was found. On 7 April 2022, there were three strikes on the oblast during the day. Russian forces struck Synelnykove and Kryvyi Rih raions. About four people died and seven were injured. Two civilians also went missing. On 11 March 2022, three missiles hit

9072-455: The instant messaging service Telegram , highlighting that many of those sheltering in the school were women, children and elderly. However, Petro Andryushchenko, an advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, raised the concern that there was no exact number on how many people were using the school as a refuge. By 18 April, Ukrainian officials estimated that at least 95% of Mariupol had been destroyed in

9184-410: The internet so that reliable information from the site cannot be obtained through the normal channels of communication". On 9 March, Herman Galushchenko, Energy Minister of Ukraine, claimed that Russian forces were holding the workers at the power plant hostage and had forced several to make propaganda videos. On 22 April 2022, Fedorov said that over 100 Russian soldiers were killed by partisans during

9296-555: The intersection between the Viacheslava Chornovila and Kruhova streets ( 51°30′00″N 31°16′45″E  /  51.5001°N 31.2791°E  / 51.5001; 31.2791 ) were destroyed, 7 more houses were also heavily damaged in the vicinity of the Biloruskyi Lane. Local emergency services recorded 38 men and 9 women killed (47 in total) by the bombing and 18 people injured. As Amnesty International

9408-582: The missile was in the same range as one used by Ukrainian forces, however, these claims were rapidly debunked. A fake video clip with a mock BBC logo, attributing blame to the Ukrainian forces, circulated through pro-Russian telegram channels and Russian state television since 10 April. However, the BBC said that it has not produced any such video. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that their forces no longer use Tochka-U missiles. However, Amnesty International had published videos about use of Tochka-U missiles in other cities before Kramatorsk. investigators from

9520-481: The missiles had killed civilians, earlier reports were redacted, the Russian government also denied responsibility for the attack, and the Russian Ministry of Defence characterized it as a "Ukrainian hoax". The Russian Ministry of Defence later claimed that the missiles were launched by Ukrainian forces from the city of Dobropillia , southwest of Kramatorsk. Russian media also said that the serial number of

9632-502: The missiles had the Russian words ЗА ДЕТЕЙ ( za detey ), meaning "[in revenge] for the children", painted in white on its outside. It also bore serial number Ш91579, which investigators said could potentially help trace it back to its original arsenal. Initially, Russian state media and pro-Russian telegram channels claimed successful Russian airstrikes on a military transport target in Kramatorsk. However, after it became clear that

9744-429: The morning of 29 September 2022 missiles hit residential areas in Dnipro, and three people were killed. The central bus station was also hit. Dnipro was also hit during the 10 October 2022 Russian missile strikes. It was hit by at least five missiles, During the attack that took place during morning rush hour three civilians were killed. On 18 October 2022, Russian missiles hit energy infrastructure in Dnipro. One man

9856-529: The move and accused the Russian embassy of disinformation . Meduza stated that the Russian representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya , had on 7 March referred to Maternity Hospital No 1 ( 47°08′20″N 37°36′12″E  /  47.13892°N 37.60337°E  / 47.13892; 37.60337 ) as a hospital that he claimed was used by Ukrainian armed forces as a firing point, not Maternity Hospital No 3 . Meduza described Lavrov as having confused Hospital No 1 , referred to by Nebenzya, with

9968-470: The nurses and in general all the staff had been told to leave it. It was a base of the ultra-radical Azov Battalion." On 10 March 2022, Twitter removed a tweet from the Russian embassy in the UK which claimed that the Mariupol hospital attack was "fake" and that Marianna Vyshegirskaya, one of the victims, was an "actress" by citing her blogging career, as a violation of Twitter rules. British politicians welcomed

10080-520: The oblast into five districts: But after it was annexed into Russia as the Zaporozhye Oblast it was changed into 16 districts. The composition of the administration is published on its website, however, not all members of the administration are listed there, but only the Head, the commandant of Berdiansk , and the deputy for housing and communal services. The table lists notable members of

10192-420: The oblast, and included deportation to Russia as a penalty. In September, occupation forces held largely disputed referendums in the occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblast to join the Russian Federation . On 27 September, Russian officials claimed that Zaporizhzhia Oblast's referendum passed with 93.11% of voters in favour of joining the Russian Federation. Russia signed an accession treaty with

10304-639: The occupation of Melitopol. On 24 August 2022, the Russian-appointed head of Mykhailivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ivan Sushko, was assassinated in a car bombing. Confirmed recaptured by [REDACTED]   Russia on 26 October 2024. Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine During the Russian invasion of Ukraine , the Russian military have carried out deliberate attacks against civilian targets and indiscriminate attacks in densely-populated areas. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine says

10416-592: The open-source Belarusian Hajun project had also published videos of several Russian trucks with Tochka missiles heading from Belarus to Ukraine with 'V' markings on 5 and 30 March. The Institute for the Study of War assessed that the Russian 8th Guards Combined Arms Army , which is active in the Donbas area, is equipped with Tochka-U missiles. Michelle Bachelet , the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović ,

10528-467: The plant and a fuel meltdown. On 6 March, the IAEA released a statement saying that Russian forces were interfering in the operations of the power plant, and "any action of plant management—including measures related to the technical operation of the six reactor units—requires prior approval by the Russian commander," further stating that "Russian forces at the site have switched off some mobile networks and

10640-702: The previous day that had killed four civilians in a hotel. On 28 October, a Russian missile struck a residential building in Kryvyi Rih, killing one person and wounding at least 11. On 24 August 2022, the Independence Day of Ukraine , Russian forces struck Chaplyne , damaging a railway station, a utility building, and a residential neighborhood. Several passenger rail cars were set on fire and destroyed. Ukrainian sources described multiple rockets or missiles being used in several attacks. At least 25 people (including 2 children) died and about 31 were injured. The Russian defense ministry claimed it had targeted

10752-631: The prosecutor's office of the Luhansk People's Republic (a Russian-backed self-proclaimed breakaway state within Ukraine) accused him of "terrorist activities". The mayor of Dniprorudne , Yevhen Matvieyev, was detained by Russian soldiers on 13 March. Matvieyev had participated in a 27 February protest preventing Russian tanks from entering the town. The Russians proclaimed Halyna Danylchenko acting mayor of Melitopol on 12 March, but Ukrainian sources said that Yevhen Balytskyi had become

10864-475: The purpose of which was the annexation of these territories. According to the military–civilian administration, 93.11% of voters in the referendum voted for the region to become part of Russia. Balitsky said that "Zaporizhzhia Oblast de facto separated from Ukraine". On September 28, the Zaporizhzhia military–civilian administration announced the secession of the region from Ukraine. Russia did not control

10976-691: The railway station building in Kramatorsk , and the first reports were published in Ukrainian media at around 10:45. According to the Ukrainian government, between 1000 and 4000 civilians, mainly women and children, were present at the station awaiting evacuation from the region, which was being subjected to heavy Russian shelling. the attack left at least 60 dead and 110+ wounded. The missiles were initially misidentified as Iskander ballistic missiles . Pavlo Kyrylenko , governor of Donetsk oblast, later specified that they had rather been Tochka-U missiles armed with cluster munitions. The remnants of one of

11088-436: The rescue efforts were hampered due to continued attacks on the area by Russian forces. By 17 March, the number of casualties was unclear; some emerged alive. By 18 March, around 130 survivors had been rescued. Mariupol City Council stated that according to initial information, no one had been killed, although one person was gravely wounded. On 25 March, Mariupol City Council estimated that about 300 people had been killed as

11200-407: The right-bank part of the city, destroying one entrance and 236 apartments. On 19 January the official casualty rate was stated as 46 people killed, 80 injured (12 in critical condition) and 11 people reported missing. 14 children were reported among the injured, and 39 inhabitants were rescued. The destruction left about 400 people homeless. This strike became the most destructive Russian attack on

11312-434: The same site over the following months. Polohy was liberated by the Red Army on 17 September 1943. A cannery was opened in Polohy in 1967, which processed agricultural products. Polohy urban hromada , a hromada (low-level administrative division) of Ukraine with its center in Polohy, was formed on 30 March 2018 from the union of several local councils. On 3 March 2022, Polohy was captured by Russian forces during

11424-565: The strategic importance of the railway junction. On 27 June 2023, Russian forces attacked a pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk with an Iskander missile , killing 13 people including four children and Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina . About sixty people were wounded. Kramatorsk was about 18 miles (30 km) from the eastern frontline. The restaurant was popular with local civilians, war correspondents, humanitarian volunteers, as well as Ukrainian soldiers on leave to 'rest and recuperate' and meet their loved ones. Several journalists were having

11536-478: The unofficial de facto head of the city. Meanwhile, hundreds of people joined a protest outside Melitopol city hall to demand the release of Fedorov. Olga Gaysumova, head of the non-governmental organization "Conscientious Society of Melitopol" and the organizer of local protests against Russian forces, was arrested. On 13 March, the Melitopol City Council declared that "occupying troops of

11648-411: The use of cluster munitions by Russia after interviewing a victim who provided them with a fragment of ammunition that was removed from his thigh. During shelling of Mariupol by Russian forces, a number of attempts to establish a humanitarian evacuation corridor to evacuate civilians from the city were made, but failed when the corridor was targeted by Russian forces. On 5 March, a five-hour ceasefire

11760-419: The use of scatterable land mines and Grad rockets . Amnesty International documented overall 28 indiscriminate strikes in populated areas of Kharkiv which they claim may constitute war crimes, and which caused hundreds of civilian casualties and injured many more. On 11 July 2022, a Russian wave of shelling killed six people and injured 31 in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The mayor Ihor Terekhov said that

11872-403: Was bombed several times by Russian forces during a ceasefire, killing at least four people and injuring at least seventeen, also leading to at least one stillbirth Ukrainian authorities described the damage to the hospital as "colossal". Video footage following the attacks showed "much of the front of the building ... ripped away" and "mangled cars burning outside". Hospital wards were "reduced to

11984-587: Was declared, but evacuations were quickly halted after shelling continued during the declared time. The next day, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that a second attempt to establish an evacuation corridor had failed. On 9 March 2022, the Children's and Maternity Hospital No. 3 , a hospital complex functioning both as a children's hospital and maternity ward,

12096-523: Was exchanged for nine Russian conscripts captured by Ukrainian forces. On 18 May 2022, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin said during a visit to the region that "the region's prospect is to work in our friendly Russian family," and announced the imminent implementation of plans to launch the maximum turnover of the ruble. According to him, pensions and salaries would be paid to residents of

12208-596: Was forcibly removing civilians from the city to be transferred to Berdiansk , deeper within Russia-controlled territory. In July 2023, a three-man Ukrainian drone team used an explosive-carrying drone to blow up a Russian electronic warfare system mounted on a tower in Polohy. On 8–10 September 2023, the 2023 Russian elections took place in the occupied Ukrainian territories , which Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov described as "hellish pseudo-elections". During this period, on 9 September, Fedorov reported that

12320-684: Was injured and a large-scale fire broke out at an energy facility that was severely damaged, more than three dozen residential buildings were damaged, including schools and kindergartens. On 25 October 2022 two people were killed, including a pregnant woman, and four injured due to a fire at a gas station after fragments of a Russian missile hit it. On 26 November 2022, around noon, a Russian missile strike on Dnipro injured 13 people and partially destroyed seven private houses in Dnipro's Amur-Nyzhnodniprovskyi District . Dnipro mayor Borys Filatov reported that city communications and infrastructure were not damaged. Governor Valentyn Reznichenko stated that due to

12432-468: Was occupied by Nazi Germany beginning 5 October 1941. Oppressions against the local Jewish population - who had comprised 3.2% of the population prewar - began immediately. In December 1941, a large number of Jews - either 70 families or 100 Jews, according to different reports - were murdered at Polohy as part of the Holocaust . There are some reports of subsequent mass killings of Jews and non-Jews at

12544-424: Was unable to identify a legitimate military target nearby, it said the attack could be a war crime. Human Rights Watch (HRW) found no evidence of a "significant [military] target in or near the intersection when it was hit ... pointing to a potentially deliberate or reckless indiscriminate attack". HRW called for an International Criminal Court investigation and a United Nations commission of inquiry to decide if

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