Systematic attacks on civilians marked Russia's war against Ukraine in 2024.
Public holidays, weekends, schools, hospitals, city parks - nothing is off limits to the aggressor state. One of the new deadly tactics in 2024 was the double-tap strike, when a second missile hits the same place minutes after the first, targeting first responders and civilians helping the wounded.
Russia also deliberately struck medical facilities, further escalating its war on Ukraine's healthcare system.
This UkraineWorld analysis documentsthe deadliest Russian attacks of 2024 - those that deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure and killed at least ten people - though the actual number of strikes and victims is much higher.
Date: Night of March 1-2, 2024
Location: Odesa
Type of attack: Drone strike
Target/damage: A Russian drone struck a 9-story residential building in a sleeping district of Odesa, completely destroying one entrance section of the structure.
Casualties: 12 people killed, including 5 children.
Among the victims were Anna Haidarzhi and her four-month-old son Tymofii, as well as the entire family of military personnel Oleh and Tetiana Kravets. Their three children - seven-month-old Liza, 10-year-old Serhii, and 8-year-old Zlata - were all found dead under the rubble.
People were trapped under the debris for nearly 24 hours.
Date: March 15, 2024
Location: Odesa
Type of attack: Double missile strike (Iskander-M)
Target/damage: Russia launched two missiles at the same recreational area, 17 minutes apart. The second strike hit while rescue workers and medics responded to the first explosion - searching for the injured, extinguishing fires, and clearing debris.
Casualties: 21 people killed. More than 70 injured.
Among the victims was a rescue worker killed during the second strike.
Date: April 17, 2024
Location: Chernihiv
Type of attack: Missile strike (three Iskander cruise missiles)
Target/damage: Russian missiles struck near the city center, including a non-operational hotel. The blasts damaged 28 apartment buildings and more than 500 residential units. Rescue and medical teams responded immediately, and a coordination center was set up for emergency assistance.
Casualties: 18 people killed. 78 injured, including 4 children.
Search and rescue operations concluded on April 18. 37 people were hospitalised following the strike.
Date:May 25, 2024
Location: Kharkiv
Type of attack: Missile strike (Hrom E-1)
Target/damage: Around 4:00 PM, a Russian missile struck the Epitsentr hardware hypermarket in the Slobidskyi district.
Casualties: 19 people killed. 54 injured.
Among the dead were employees and customers of the Epitsentr store. One of the victims was 17-year-old Kyrylo, identified only through DNA testing. Another was a 38-year-old employee, identified using his 8-year-old son's DNA. As of May 29, two people remain missing.
Date: July 8, 2024
Location: Kyiv
Type of attack: Massive large-scale missile strike
Target/damage:
129 buildings of various types were damaged citywide.
Casualties: 33 people dead, including 5 children. 121 injured, including 10 children
This was thedeadliest Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital in 2024. The largest number of fatalities occurred in the residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district.
Emergency services rescued 11 people from beneath the rubble. Search and rescue operations concluded on July 9, following two days of round-the-clock efforts by Ukrainian rescue teams.
798 rescue workers and 185 units of emergency equipment were deployed for rescue and recovery efforts.
The deliberate targeting of medical and residential infrastructure was widely condemned as a terrorist act by international observers.
Date:July 8, 2024
Location:Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Type of attack: Missile strike
Target/damage: A Russian missile hit both an industrial facility and nearby residential buildings.
Casualties: 10 people killed. Around 50 injured.
The attack caused extensive damage to civilian and industrial infrastructure. It was part of a broader wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine on the same day, further underscoring Russia's deliberate targeting of populated areas.
Date: November 17, 2024
Location: Sumy
Type of attack: Missile strike
Target/damage: A Russian missile struck a residential area in Sumy, damaging 10 apartment buildings and shattering approximately 2,200 windows. Heating and water supplies were temporarily disrupted but later restored.
Casualties: 12 people killed, including a 9-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl. 72 people injured, including 12 children.
The strike caused extensive damage in a densely populated area.
Date: November 18, 2024
Location: Odesa
Type of attack: Ballistic missile strike (Iskander-M)
Target/damage: Around noon, a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile was intercepted by Ukrainian air defence, but the debris crashed into a densely populated neighbourhood. 7 residential buildings, 3 educational institutions, a bank, 2 administrative buildings, and 28 vehicles were damaged or destroyed.
Casualties: 11 people killed, including 7 police officers, an ambulance driver, and 2 civilians. 54 people injured, including 4 children.
The impact hit a residential building and caused widespread destruction to nearby infrastructure. Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror, with bodies on the streets and cars exploding.
Date: Night of November 18--19, 2024
Location: Hlukhiv, Sumy Oblast
Type of attack: Drone strike
Target/damage: Two Russian drones struck a dormitory of an educational institution late at night. The building partially collapsed, leaving residents trapped under the rubble.
Casualties: 12 people killed, including an 8-year-old boy. 12 injured, including 2 children.
The first explosion occurred around 11:20 PM, shortly after an air raid alert was issued. Residents reported a powerful blast, and local channels shared footage of the strike's aftermath.
Date: December 6, 2024
Location:Zaporizhzhia
Type of attack: Missile strike
Target/damage: A Russian missile strike destroyed a car repair complex and damaged nearby shops, apartment buildings, and civilian infrastructure. Windows were shattered in residential houses across the area.
Casualties: 10 people killed, including 2 children. 26 injured, including 3 children.
Local officials reported widespread structural damage.
Date: December 10, 2024
Location: Zaporizhzhia
Type of attack: Missile strike
Target/damage: A Russian missile struck a private ophthalmology clinic during working hours. The building was completely destroyed, and nearby residential infrastructure also suffered damage.
Casualties: 11 people killed, including 4 clinic staff members.
Among the victims were two receptionists and two nurses. The executive director survived after being trapped under the rubble for seven hours.
The missile hit immediately after an air raid siren, leaving the clinic staff no time to reach shelter. Survivors reported that the explosion came without warning and brought down the walls in seconds.
These attacks are not isolated incidents - they are part of a deliberate and systematic strategy to terrorise civilians, destroy vital infrastructure, and crush Ukraine's will to resist.
Documenting these crimes is not just about history - it's about justice.
Each name, each date, each shattered building is evidence.
And each piece of evidence brings us closer to accountability.
This publication was compiled with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. It’s content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.
