In maps and charts: Russian and Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets

Al Jazeera’s visualisation of conflict data shows that both Russia and Ukraine have increasingly struck civilian infrastructure since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. A brief pause in strikes over a weekend allowed envoys from former US President Donald Trump — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — to visit Moscow and Kyiv as Washington sought to restart stalled talks; no breakthrough was reported and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned the fighting would probably continue into winter.

An ACLED analysis points to a rising share of attacks that hit non-combat targets. In 2022 Russian forces carried out 29,792 attacks on Ukraine, of which 1,635 hit civilian infrastructure. By August 2026, ACLED recorded 7,170 Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, accounting for more than 13 percent of Russian attacks on the country. Ukrainian strikes inside Russia also increased: ACLED recorded 245 Ukrainian attacks in Russia in 2022, 24 of which hit civilian infrastructure, and by August 2026 that number had risen to 3,560 attacks on civilian infrastructure, about 27 percent of Ukrainian attacks in Russia. Despite the higher share of Ukrainian strikes hitting civilian targets, Russia has carried out far more attacks overall.

The geography and types of targets differ by side. ACLED data show Russian attacks concentrated along the eastern front: Donetsk (more than 3,652 attacks), Kharkiv (3,590), Sumy (2,969), Dnipropetrovsk (1,797) and Kherson (1,147); the Kyiv region recorded 742 attacks. About 68 percent of Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure hit residential structures, 19 percent struck energy facilities, 7.7 percent hit education buildings and 5.1 percent struck healthcare facilities. Ukrainian operations have focused heavily on Russia’s border regions, with Belgorod recording over 9,549 attacks, followed by Kursk (1,035), Bryansk (297), Krasnodar (286) and Rostov (185). Roughly 69 percent of Ukrainian attacks hit residential infrastructure in Russia and almost 30 percent targeted energy infrastructure. Ukraine has used long-range drones to strike oil and gas facilities, logistics hubs and warehouses belonging to firms such as Wildberries and Ozon; President Zelenskyy said Ukraine plans to deploy at least "1,000 drones" per day, up from a recent daily average of about 300.

Weapons and defences have shifted as well. Where shelling and artillery dominated early in the war, drone and air strikes now make up the largest share of attacks for both sides. Russia has increased ballistic missile use and is on track, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), to launch about 840 ballistic missiles at Ukraine this year — 47 percent more than in 2025 — and Ukrainian intelligence reported the first confirmed combat use of an upgraded Iskander-1000 against Kyiv. Falling interception rates — CSIS reports a drop from 24 percent in 2025 to 10.2 percent in 2026 — have increased calls for additional high-end air-defence systems. Western support has aimed to expand Ukraine’s drone and air-defence capacity: the EU provided 3.9 billion euros toward a 6 billion euro drone procurement package, and the UK announced a 752 million pound package to supply 150,000 drones and more than 350 air-defence missiles and radars by the end of the year.