Update on the war in Ukraine (31st July to 13th August)

14-08-2023

Jakob Lindelöf

Europe and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence

The war in Ukraine entered its 75th and 76th week between the 31st of July and 13th of August, which saw continued attacks on civilians, non-military targets, and aid-workers by rocket and artillery, and the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians from cities close to the frontlines. Ukraine’s war crimes office reported that over 10,000 civilians have been killed since February 2022, and a US report details how Ukrainians in occupied territories are being coerced by Russia into becoming Russian citizens. Following Russia’s new conscription law, at the beginning of the month reports of arson attacks on Russian recruitment offices.

The previous two weeks have seen multiple attacks on civilian targets, residential areas, hotels and hospitals. In the city of Kryvyi Rih, 6 people died and 75 were injured by a Russian missile attack, 3 people were killed with 9 injured in a village in the Kharkiv Oblast, a blood transfusion center was also hit Kharkiv, in Kherson a doctor was killed when a hospital was attacked, and in a separate incident in Kherson, 7 people lost their lives (Dana, 2023; Ukraine says doctor killed in Russian shelling, 2023; Court, 2023b; Ukraine war: Blood transfusion centre, 2023; Family killed in Russian shelling, 2023).

In Pokrovsk, a Russian attack killed 9 people, injuring 82, whilst an attack on a hotel in Zaporizhzhya left 2 dead and 16 injured (Voitovych & Dean, 2023; Russian missile hits hotel, 2023).

The attacks listed are an exhaustive list of all incidents that have occurred in the past weeks as attacks by missiles and artillery have taken place all over Ukraine injuring and killing civilians.

Alongside civilian casualties, are the attacks on aid workers and rescuers sent to assist victims of attacks perpetrated on civilians. On the 31st of July, four aid workers were injured by Russian fire in Kherson whilst clearing debris from the destruction of the Kakhova Dam (Daily Press Briefing, 2023). Ukraine has accused Russia of deliberately targeting rescue workers through the tactic of “double tapping”. This means that if an area is attacked once and emergency workers arrive to begin rescue operations, a second strike is deliberately launched in order to kill or injure those workers in order to deter or prevent necessary aid from being delivered. As mentioned previously, the attack on Pokrovsk injured mainly those rescue workers sent to assist residents injured in the first attack. So far, during the Russian-Ukrainian war, almost 80 rescue workers have been killed by Russian strikes (Arhirova, 2023). Ukraine’s war crime office has reported that over 10,000 civilians have so far been killed in the war (Court, 2023a).

Due to heavy fighting and increased pressure in the Kharkiv region, the local military administration in the Kupyansk district has ordered an evacuation of nearly 12,000 people due to the risks posed from the fighting (Ukraine orders civilian evacuation, 2023). By the 14th of August, the Guardian reported that over 200 people had been evacuated, including 71 children, however many more remained in the city and in danger from Russian attacks (The Guardian, 2023). It was also announced on the 5th of August, in the Donetsk region 130 children will be evacuated due to the dangerous situation present in the area (Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, 2023).

A report by Global Rights Compliance found that nearly half of civilians detained by Russian forces in Kherson were subjected to sexual violence and other forms of torture (Cotovio, 2023). Another report shows how Russia is coercing Ukrainians in occupied territories to accept citizenship in order to gain access to things such as humanitarian supplies and healthcare. The report also states that if people refuse citizenship they risk retaliation such as forced deportation or other threats (Sullivan, 2023).

On the 25th of July the Russian parliament approved a bill that increased the age of those eligible for conscription. Russian authorities have now reported a series of attacks on recruitment offices of people attempting to burn them down (Snodgrass, 2023).

Sources and further readings:

Arhirova, H. (2023, August 8). Ukraine accuses Russia of targeting rescue workers with consecutive missile strikes. AP News. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-missile-strike-6fa27eed10747b7daa85d7518e99d5ba

Cotovio, V. (2023, August 2). Nearly half of those held in Russia’s detention centers in Kherson were tortured, righs report finds. CNN. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/02/europe/kherson-detention-centers-torture-report-intl/index.html

Court, E. (2023b, August 8). Update: 3 killed, 9 injured in Russian attack on village in Kharkiv Oblast.  The Kyiv Independent. Retrieved from https://kyivindependent.com/update-3-killed-9-injured-in-russian-attack-on-village-in-kharkiv-oblast/

Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. (2023, August 3). United Nations. Retrieved from https://press.un.org/en/2023/db230803.doc.htm

Dana, F. (2023, August 1). Russian missiles kill at least 6 in Zelenskyy’s hometown in central Ukraine. AP News. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-missile-attack-kryvyi-rih-429c1b97cc19484e0a6e2f3ce92d739a

Family killed in Russian shelling in Ukraine’s Kherson. (2023, August 13). Al Jazeera. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/13/family-killed-in-russian-shelling-in-ukraines-kherson

Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine. (2023, August 5). Retrieved from https://minre.gov.ua/2023/08/05/shhe-u-devyaty-naselenyh-punktah-donechchyny-ogolosheno-prymusovu-evakuacziyu-ditej/

Russian missile hits hotel used by UN in Zaporizhzhia - officials. (2023, August 11). Reuters. 

Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-attacked-civilian-building-zaporizhzhia-officials-2023-08-10/

Snodgras, E. (2023, August 9). Russia accuses Ukraine of orchestrating a phone scam scheme to trick elderly Russians into setting military recruitment offices on fire amid string of arson attacks. Business Insider. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-accuses-ukraine-phone-scam-plot-military-recruitment-center-attacks-2023-8?international=true&r=US&IR=T

Sullivan, H. (2023, August 3). Russia ‘systematically’ forcing Ukrainians to accept citizenship, US report finds. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/03/russia-forcing-ukrainian-passports-us-report

The Guardian. (2023, August 13). Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/aug/13/russia-ukraine-war-live-moscow-says-it-destroyed-drone-targeting-belgorod-kyiv-claims-progress-in-south?page=with:block-64d897e18f0868b1425918a0&filterKeyEvents=false

Ukraine orders civilian evacuation of Kharkiv areas as Russians advance. (2023, August 10). Al Jazeera. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/10/ukraine-orders-civilian-evacuation-of-kharkiv-areas-as-russians-advance

Ukraine says doctor killed in Russian shelling of Kherson hospital. (2023, August 1). Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-shelling-hospital-kills-doctor-kherson-ukraine-2023-08-01/

Ukraine war: Blood transfusion centre in Kharkiv hit by Russian bomb Zelenskyy says. (2023, August 6). Sky News. Retrieved from https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-blood-transfusion-centre-in-kharkiv-hit-by-russian-bomb-zelenskyy-says-12934609

Voitovych, O. & Dean, S. (2023, August 8). Twin Russian strikes on Ukrainian city kill civilians, then hit rescuers, official says. CNN. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/08/europe/pokrovsk-attack-ukraine-intl/index.html