Eyes on Russia

The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) has identified a significant escalation in the use of drone-dropped ordnance by Russian forces to target possible civilians, possible civilian vehicles, and civilian infrastructure in Kherson City and its neighbouring suburb, Antonivka. Between July and 21 October 2024, CIR verified
88 such incidents and has established the locations of anti-personnel mines likely dropped by Russian drone operators.

Avdiivka, a small city 13 kilometres to the north of Donetsk city, has been at the forefront of Russia’s war in Ukraine since 2014. Prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, fighting for the city was emblematic of the broader war in the Donbas and centred on the city’s industrial zone to the south-east. Occasional flare-ups between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces (such as in January-February 2017) would result in the shelling of the residential areas of Avdiivka, however this was irregular.

Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city to be seized by Russian occupying forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion with President Putin declaring the city part of the Russian Federation on 30 September 2022 after a sham referendum.

When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, open source investigative techniques – or OSINT – entered the mainstream, with journalists and analysts around the world turning to these tools to track troop movements and investigate potential war crimes. Three years on, we ask CIR staff how OSINT has altered perceptions of the war and shaped reporting.

Open source data reveals the devastation to critical infrastructure and services in Ukraine, with schools, hospitals and energy facilities among the buildings and structures damaged since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

Multiple videos show the men’s last moments, as they kneel or lie on the ground with their hands on their heads or behind their backs.