A Russian Uragan MLRS rocket struck a residential building in Chasiv Yar, Kharkiv, on the evening of Saturday 9 July. As of the morning of Tuesday 12 July, 34 people have been confirmed killed, including at least one child. Nine people have been rescued from the rubble, but many more are feared trapped.
Ukrainian emergency services are still clearing away the rubble. By 0630 on Tuesday, they had cleared away at least 70% of the debris.
Chasiv Yar is south-east of Kramatorsk, a city which is expected to be the next major target for Russian forces as they advance into Donetsk. Authorities are encouraging inhabitants to evacuate the region, and 80% of residents in Donetsk have already left.
Since 24 February 2022, AOAV has recorded 238 incidents of explosive weapons use by Russian forces on urban residential areas in Ukraine, as reported in English-language news sources, which have caused a reported 1,284 civilian casualties. Russian strikes on urban residential areas account for 39% of Russian explosive weapons use in Ukraine, and 27% of civilian casualties of Russian explosive weapons use in Ukraine since 24 February 2022.
Globally, AOAV has recorded 5,396 incidents of explosive weapons use targeting urban residential areas since 2010. 348, or 6%, of those incidents are attributed to Russia, Russian-backed forces, or Russia-led coalitions.
Russian-led explosive weapons use targeting urban residential areas has caused a reported 2,298 civilian casualties (1,023 killed, 1,275 injured), including at least 94 women and 216 children.
Russian-led explosive weapons use targeting urban residential areas has caused a reported 11 armed actor casualties.
Incidents of Russian-led explosive weapons use targeting urban residential areas have been recorded in Libya, Syria, and Ukraine.
AOAV’s casualty figures represent the lowest of estimations in terms of the number of people killed and injured by explosive weapon use. In an effort to quantify the explicit harm caused by specific explosive weapons, AOAV solely records incident-specific casualty figures, as reported in English-language media.
AOAV condemns the use of violence against civilians and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. All actors should stop using explosive weapons with wide-area affects where there is likely to be a high concentration of civilians.
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