| March 2024 Ukraine missile strike | |
|---|---|
| Part ofRussian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure (2022–present) | |
| Location | Kharkiv,Zaporizhzhia,Kryvyi Rih,Khmelnytskyi,Poltava Oblast,Vinnytsia Oblast,Lviv Oblast,Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast,Mykolaiv Oblast,Odesa Oblast,Sumy Oblast and other parts ofUkraine |
| Date | 22 March 2024 |
| Deaths | 5[1] civilians[2] |
| Injured | 26[2] |
| Perpetrators |  Russian Air Force |
In the morning hours of 22 March 2024,Russia carried out one of the largest missile and drone attacks againstUkraine in theseries of similar Russian attacks during the ongoingRusso-Ukrainian War with 88 missiles and 63 drones.[3]Kharkiv,Zaporizhzhia,Kryvyi Rih,Khmelnytskyi,Poltava Oblast,Vinnytsia Oblast,Lviv Oblast,Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast,Mykolaiv Oblast,Odesa Oblast,Sumy Oblast and other parts of the country were subjected to rocket fire by theRussian army. TheDnieper Hydroelectric Station was put out of action.
The attacks left over a million people without electricity.[3] The head ofUkrenergo,Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, called the attack on the energy system the largest since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian army into the territory of sovereign Ukraine.[1]
Three people were killed and 14 more were injured as a result of the Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia, one person died in the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, and there were civilian casualties and injuries in Khmelnytskyi. Kharkiv was left without electricity.
On the night of March 22, 2024, an air raid alert was announced throughout the country. In the morning, theRussian military launched a massive missile strike on Ukraine.[4]
According to theUkrainian Air Force, the strike used 63Shahed attack drones (55 of them were shot down), 12Iskander-M ballistic missiles, 40Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles (35 were shot down), 5Kh-22 cruise missiles, 7Kinzhal missiles, 2Kh-59 missiles (both shot down), 22S-300/S-400 missiles. The missiles hit Ukrainian energy facilities.[1]
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InKharkiv, the Russian military carried out more than 15 strikes on energy infrastructure facilities with S-300/Kh-22 missiles, according to the head of the regional military administrationOleh Syniehubov. The city was almost completely left without electricity and water supply.[1]Zmiivska thermal power plant was reported to be nearly completely destroyed.[5][6][7]
Three days after the attack thecombined heat and power plantKharkiv TEC-5 was stated to have ceased operation due to the damage it had suffered during the attack. The plant's management said that "the reconstruction process will last more than one year."[8] Kharkiv was forced to rely onother regions of Ukraine for its energy needs.[8]
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InZaporizhzhia, the Russian military launched 12 missile strikes, according to the head of the regional administration,Ivan Fedorov. According to preliminary data, seven houses were destroyed and another 35 were damaged. Some people were wounded.[1]
TheZaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was nearly shut down due to the attack. During the attack, the external overhead power line "Dniprovska", which connects the nuclear power plant with the unifiedenergy system of Ukraine, was switched off.Energoatom reported that the damaged power line was restored.[1]
InKryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, critical infrastructure facilities were damaged as a result of a combined attack by drones and missiles, according to the Head of the Military AdministrationOleksandr Vilkul. The city introduced emergency shutdown schedules. Hospitals and other infrastructure began switching to generator power where possible.[1]
According toUkrhydroenergo, missiles hit hydraulic structures of theDnieper Hydroelectric Station, causing a fire at the station. Authorities said there was no risk of a breach on the dam's structure. A Russian missile also hit a trolleybus that was traveling along the dam, according to Petro Andryushchenko, adviser to the legitimate mayor of Mariupol, adding that it was carrying civilians on their way to work. Traffic in the area of the dam was stopped.[1]
CEO of Ukrhydroenergo Ihor Syrota said onRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the Russian military hit the dam's two stations. According to him, the HPP-2 station was severely damaged, and it is unknown whether it will be possible to restore it. One of the station's supports was also hit and the crane beams were broken.[1]
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InSumy Oblast, as a result of attacks on energy system facilities, emergency shutdown schedules were carried out in areas ofSumy,Konotop andShostka Raions.[1]
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InKhmelnytskyi, the strike damaged infrastructure and residential buildings, according to the mayor of the city,Oleksandr Symсhyshyn [wikidata]. Two people were killed and eight others were injured.[1]
InPoltava Oblast, the roofs of three private houses inMyrhorod Raion were damaged by rocket fragments; there were no casualties. Preventive shutdowns of substations were applied in the region and an emergency shutdown schedule was introduced.[1]
Attacks on critical infrastructure facilities were also recorded inVinnytsia,Lviv,Ivano-Frankivsk,Mykolaiv,Odesa Oblast andDnipro.[1][9] Emergency power outages to maintain balance in the energy system of Ukraine were introduced inKirovohrad Oblast and in Dnipro.[9][1] In Kirovohrad Oblast no damage or shutdown of critical infrastructure facilities was recorded.[1]
German Galushchenko, theMinister of Energy of Ukraine called the Russian strike the largest attack on the Ukrainian energy sector in recent times.[10]
Press Secretary of the Russian PresidentDmitry Peskov for the first time stated that "Russia is in a state of war with Ukraine" rather than referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "special operation".[11]
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