Think of this as your investigation log. Answer each question to explain what you discovered and how you got there.
1. Write a brief overall summary of your findings.
The claim that "NATO-backed Ukraine has been bombing Donbas civilians since 2014" represents a highly contentious narrative frequently cited in discussions about the Russo-Ukrainian War. To understand the reality of the situation, it is necessary to look at verified data from neutral international observers who monitored the conflict on the ground between 2014 and the full-scale invasion.
2. What primary sources did you find (e.g., transcripts, videos of politician speeches, tweets from public figures, scientific studies)? For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Report
This primary report documents that from April 2014 to December 2021, a total of 3,106 conflict-related civilian deaths occurred across the Donbas region. It explicitly shows that active hostilities dramatically decreased over time—dropping to 26 civilian deaths in 2020 and 25 in 2021—and that during the final years of the low-intensity conflict, landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) caused more civilian fatalities than active artillery shelling.
OHCHR Conflict-Related Civilian Casualties Report (PDF)
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission Archive
The OSCE's field reports gathered by international, unarmed civilian observers on the ground show that civilian casualties and infrastructure damage occurred on both sides of the frontline due to bidirectional exchanges of military fire. They also reported extensive technical obstacles to their tracking efforts, such as severe GPS signal jamming of their monitoring drones in separatist-controlled territories.
OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Archive
3. What secondary sources did you find (e.g., newspapers, magazines)? Only use secondary sources if sufficient primary sources are not available. For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.
Because comprehensive primary source data from neutral international bodies (such as the United Nations and the OSCE) is fully available, secondary sources are not strictly required to verify the facts of this claim. However, reliable secondary sources from independent research institutions and encyclopedias are highly valuable for providing historical context and synthesis of the data.
Two credible secondary sources that analyze the timeline and dynamics of the pre-2022 Donbas conflict include
4. What potential biases or interests might each of your sources have?
As an international intergovernmental organization, the UN's primary mandate is the impartial protection of human rights and the prevention of civilian harm under international law. While generally considered a neutral gold standard for data collection, the UN relies heavily on cooperation from member states to grant access to conflict zones.
5. What evidence supports the claim you are fact-checking?
Supporters of the claim point to the overall civilian death toll in the region. According to official United Nations data, over 3,000 civilians were killed between 2014 and 2021. Proponents highlight these total figures to argue that a major humanitarian crisis was taking place, pointing out that the vast majority of these casualties occurred in 2014 and 2015 when the Ukrainian military launched its large-scale "Anti-Terrorist Operation" to retake cities captured by separatist forces.
6. What evidence undermines the claim you are fact-checking?
7. What happened when you tried contacting the person or group who made the original claim? (Always try to contact them—it’s okay if you don’t get a reply. For example, if the claim is that the president said something, try reaching out to the administration. If it was a Bluesky user, message that user on Bluesky.)
