Ukraine Once Again Awoken by Massive Missile Strikes and Explosions

Multiple cities in Ukraine have reported heating disruptions and power outages as a result of the Russian air strikes that took place in the early hours of Sunday, March 24.

Today’s strike is the latest in a series of intense Russian air strikes that resumed on Thursday after weeks of pause, following another strike on Friday against energy infrastructure that was the largest of its kind to date.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Telegram that Russia launched 20 missiles and 7 Shaheds drones to attack energy infrastructure in the Lviv region, and another official reported that a “critical infrastructure object” in the region was hit, but there was no information on the number of victims at the time of writing.

In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said missile fragments fell on a forest in the Desnyan district and started a fire. Social media reported that 10 missiles were recorded over Kyiv, and air defense could be heard operating around 5:10 a.m.

Kyiv Military Administration reported that “about a dozen” missiles were shot down, adding that debris also fell on the Shevchenkivs'kyi district and damaged a residential building but did not start a fire.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, local administration head Serhiy Lysak said the attack damaged power lines and led to heating and power outages in Kryvyi Rih, including hospitals.

“Due to falling debris in Kryvyi Rih, heating networks and power lines were damaged. Due to a voltage drop, several boiler plants in the city were disconnected. 6 hospitals, over one and a half hundred educational institutions were left without heat. And another 3,000 houses where a total of 76,000 people live,” said Lysak.

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Overnight Russian Drone Strike Damaged Heating Infrastructure in Mykolaiv

Local authorities said the drone strike damaged at least two hotels in addition to a “heat-generating infrastructure,” though no casualties have been reported at present.

Missile and drone fragments also damaged an energy facility in the Nikopol region, leaving close to 10,000 locals without electricity temporarily.

“The aggressor targeted critical infrastructure and Nikopol region. Debris of the downed drone damaged the energy facility. More than 3,000 subscribers in Nikopol and more than 6,400 in the district remained without electricity. Electricity has already been restored,” Lysak added.

At around 1:45 a.m., 14 Tu-95 bombers were reported to be airborne and launched 29 missiles at Ukraine, which were accompanied by 28 Shahed kamikaze drones. Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 18 of the missiles and 25 of the drones.

Poland scrambled its F-16 fighter jets during the missile strike to secure its airspace.