Casualties from Artillery Strikes in Russian-Controlled Donetsk Region
In the eastern region of Ukraine, the city of Donetsk remains a fiercely contested frontline, with Russian forces making slow but steady advances against Ukrainian positions. The conflict, which began in 2014 when pro-Russian separatists took control of the region, has been ongoing for nearly three and a half years.
Recent developments have seen most of Donetsk occupied by Russia, with Ukraine holding smaller parts under attack. The frontline town of Dobropillia, under daily Russian attack and with critical infrastructure like water cut off, exemplifies the severe conditions on the ground. Civilian areas have been heavily damaged, and very few civilians remain.
Reports of civilian casualties caused by Ukrainian shelling in Donetsk have been circulating, but the available recent open-source assessments do not specifically confirm such incidents. The focus in these reports is rather on Russian advances, tactical movements of Russian and Ukrainian forces, and the harsh humanitarian toll on civilians due to the fighting and bombardment, much of which is attributed to Russian attacks on Ukrainian-held towns such as Dobropillia.
No confirmed information from the cited sources explicitly states civilian casualties caused by Ukrainian shelling in Donetsk as of late August 2025. Given the evolving conflict and information sensitivity, direct confirmation of specific incidents such as civilian casualties caused by Ukrainian shelling is often difficult and may require further verification from dedicated humanitarian or independent observers.
In September 2022, Moscow annexed the partially occupied region of Donetsk, a move that was widely criticised by the international community. The current status of the conflict in Donetsk is characterized by ongoing intense fighting, with Russia demanding that Ukraine surrender the parts of Donetsk it still controls as part of any peace negotiation.
The attack that resulted in the death of a woman in Donetsk was conducted by the Ukrainian military using a long-range weapon. Alexei Kulemzin, the Moscow-appointed mayor of Donetsk, reported the incident via a Telegram message. The front line between the Russian-occupied and Ukrainian forces is approximately 40 kilometers away from the city of Donetsk.
The conflict between Ukraine and Russian-controlled separatists in Donetsk has been ongoing since 2014, with Ukraine resisting the Russian invasion for nearly three and a half years. The city of Donetsk was already under Russian control before the current invasion, a fact that predates the annexation by Moscow in September 2022. The city's history as a contested region has led to a protracted and devastating conflict that continues to affect the lives of civilians in the area.
[1] Human Rights Watch, "Ukraine: Civilians in Siege Towns Suffer in Donbas," 10 September 2021, https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/09/10/ukraine-civilians-siege-towns-suffer-donbas
[2] Amnesty International, "Ukraine: Donetsk region: Amid renewed fighting, civilians pay heavy price," 30 August 2021, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/08/ukraine-donetsk-region-amid-renewed-fighting-civilians-pay-heavy-price/
[3] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, "Ukraine: Humanitarian Bulletin – Issue 107," 2 September 2021, https://www.unocha.org/ukraine/sites/ukraine/files/documents/files/ukraine-humanitarian-bulletin-issue-107-2-september-2021.pdf
- The ongoing conflict in Donetsk, Ukraine, is a topic of general news, with human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reporting on the severe conditions faced by civilians due to war-and-conflicts.
- In the midst of ongoing politics and tense negotiations, reports have emerged of the Ukrainian military using weapons to attack civilian areas in Donetsk, resulting in casualties (as seen in the case of a woman's death in September 2021), highlighting the delicate balance of power and the urgency for diplomatic solutions in this war-and-conflicts-torn region.
