Ukrainian officials say a Russian strike that hit a shop in the village of Hroza in the northeastern region of Kharkiv on Thursday has killed dozens of people, in what would be among the highest civilian death tolls in an attack since the war began.
It is considered a war crime to deliberately or recklessly attack civilian populations. In all, at least 9,614 civilians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and 17,535 have been injured, according to data released in September by the United Nations, which warns that the true figures are most likely far greater. Moscow denies that it has targeted civilians despite evidence to the contrary.
Here are some of the other deadliest incidents against civilians since Russia launched its invasion.
2022
Kharkiv: Few places in Ukraine were hit harder in the early weeks of Russia’s invasion than Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city after the capital, in a region of the same name. Local authorities said in mid-March of 2022 that at least 500 civilians had been killed in Russian rocket and missile attacks on apartment blocks and public buildings. That month was the deadliest of the war for civilians, according to United Nations data.
Mariupol: A Russian airstrike destroyed a theater in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol on March 16, 2022. The word “children” had been written in large white lettering outside to show that civilians were sheltering in the building. Amnesty International said in a report that at least a dozen people were killed “and likely many more.” Survivors told a reporter from The New York Times that between 60 and 200 people had been killed. The attack took place during a siege of the city, which fell to Russian forces in May. The U.N.’s top human rights official said that Mariupol was probably the “deadliest place in Ukraine” in the war’s first three months.
Kramatorsk: More than 50 civilians died when Russian forces shelled a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, in Donetsk Province, on April 8. The civilians, including women and children, were fleeing fighting in the province. The attack heralded the start of Russia’s campaign to seize the whole of the Donbas region.
Kremenchuk: A Russian missile strike on June 27 on a shopping mall in the industrial city of Kremenchuk, located in Ukraine’s central Poltava region, killed 20 people and wounded 59 others, a senior government official said.
Chasiv Yar: A Russian strike on an apartment complex in Chasiv Yar, a small city in Donetsk Province, on July 9, killed at least 43 people, according to local emergency services. Ukrainian authorities said that Russian forces had used multiple rocket launchers in the attack.
Vinnytsia: Russian cruise missiles hit a shopping center, a dance studio and a wedding hall in Vinnytsia, a city in central Ukraine hundreds of miles from the front line, on July 14. At least 23 people were killed including a 4-year-old girl with Down syndrome.
Zaporizhzhia: Russian missiles struck a convoy of vehicles carrying people fleeing fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region, southern Ukraine, on Sept. 30, killing at least 30 people and wounding 88 others.
2023
Dnipro: A heavy-duty missile built to sink ships exploded in a dense Ukrainian cityscape of homes and shops on Jan. 15, devastating a nine-story residential building. The strike killed 46 people, including six children.
Uman: A Russian rocket attack on an apartment block in the central Ukrainian city of Uman in late April killed at least 25 people.
Kherson: In early May, at least 23 people were killed and dozens wounded in a barrage of shelling that hit a shopping center, a train station and other places in Ukraine southern Kherson region, according to Ukrainian officials.
