It Is 1000 Days of Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine Today

Over 14,000 people have died, including 575 children. More than 20,000 have been injured, with over 2,000 of them children. However, these numbers are approximate. The exact toll of casualties and injuries remains unknown due to the occupation of Ukrainian towns and villages.

Currently, over 3,000 settlements remain under Russian occupation in Ukraine. Among them are Donetsk, Luhansk, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, Melitopol, Skadovsk, Henichesk, Mariupol, and Crimea. Since 2014, Russia has occupied more than 20% of Ukraine’s territory.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s defence forces have de-occupied nearly 1,900 towns and villages. Some of the most notable places are Kherson, Hostomel, Bucha, Chornobyl, Bakhmach, Trostianets, Izium, Kupiansk, Voskresenske, and Zmiinyi (Snake) Island.

Over 1,000 cultural heritage sites have been damaged by Russian forces during the war. These include landmarks like Derzhprom (the State Industry Building) in Kharkiv; the Hryhorii Skovoroda Museum; the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kharkiv; the Chernihiv Regional Youth Center; the Round Courtyard in Trostianets; the Vorontsov Palace in Odesa; the Sviatohirsk Lavra in the Donetsk region; Chersonesus (an ancient Greek city founded approximately 2,500 years ago – ed.) in Crimea; the Mariupol Museum of Local Lore.

Russia is holding thousands of Ukrainians in captivity. As of October 2024, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence reported that at least 177 Ukrainian prisoners of war have died in Russian captivity. 

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is investigating 93 cases of executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces. Due to the lack of international oversight, the actual death toll is likely to be much higher, as not all bodies are returned and Russia does not recognise many as prisoners of war.

Over 700,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia from temporarily occupied territories, according to Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights.

These figures, however, are only estimates. Due to the ongoing war and occupation, Ukraine is unable to accurately determine the number of casualties, injured, captured individuals, and the extent of cultural destruction. The true numbers are far higher.