What did mid-October 2022 bring in Russia's war on Ukraine?
A retrospective on two events reported in the days before 17 October 2022: a strike on a market in Avdiivka and a Russian listing of Meta.
What was the picture on 17 October 2022, in the days just before it? Two reported events stand out from that period, one on the ground in Donetsk Oblast and one in the information sphere.
On 12 October 2022, Russian forces struck a marketplace in Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast. At least seven civilians were killed and eight others were injured. The strike was reported as part of the wider Battle of Donbas and of attacks on civilians during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A day earlier, on 11 October 2022, Russia added Meta Platforms, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, to its list of "terrorists and extremists". The stated grounds were that the company tolerated Russophobia and allowed calls to violence against Russians.
Together, the two developments showed a war being fought both in towns of the Donbas, where market shoppers were among the casualties, and in the rules governing major online platforms.
