22 March 2024 Russian strikes on Ukraine

March 2024 Ukraine missile strike
Part of Russian 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 of Ukraine
Date	22 March 2024
Deaths	5
Injured	many
Perpetrators	Russian Air Force

A massive rocket attack on Ukraine occurred in the morning hours of 22 March, 2024. 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 the Russian army. The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station was put out of action (eight missiles hit; a trolleybus carrying civilians traveling along the dam was hit; the second power unit was destroyed). Three people were killed and 14 more were injured as a result of the Russian attack on Zaporozhye, one person died in the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, and there were civilian casualties and injuries in Khmelnitsky. Kharkiv was left without electricity.

The head of Ukrenergo, 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.

Course of events

On the night of March 22, 2024 an air raid alert was announced throughout the country. In the morning, the Russian army launched a massive missile strike on Ukraine.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the strike used 63 Shahed attack drones (55 of them were shot down), 12 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, 40 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles (35 were shot down), 5 Kh-22 cruise missiles, 7 Kinzhal missiles, 2 X-59 missiles (both shot down), 22 S-300/S-400 missiles. The missiles hit Ukrainian energy facilities.

Kharkiv

In Kharkiv, the Russian military carried out more than 15 strikes on energy infrastructure facilities with S-300/X-22 missiles, said the head of the regional military administration Oleh Syniehubov. The city was almost completely left without electricity and water supply.

Zaporizhzhia

In Zaporizhzhia, the Russian military launched 12 missile strikes, said 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.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was also on the verge of shutdown. During the attack, the external overhead power line "Dniprovska", which connects the nuclear power plant with the unified energy system of Ukraine, was switched off. Energoatom reported that the damaged power line was restored.

Kryvyi Rih

In Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, critical infrastructure facilities were damaged as a result of a combined attack by drones and missiles, said Head of the Military Administration Oleksandr Vilkul. The city is introducing emergency shutdown schedules. Hospitals and other infrastructure are switching to generator power where possible.

Strike on the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station

A strike was made on a hydraulic structures and the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station. A fire started at the station, without any threat of a breakthrough. A Russian missile hit a trolleybus that was traveling along the dam of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, said Petro Andryushchenko, adviser to the legitimate mayor of Mariupol. According to him, there were peaceful people on the trolleybus who were going to work. Andryushchenko published a photo of the consequences of the strike. Traffic in the area of the hydroelectric power station has been stopped.

According to Ukrhydroenergo, the attack hit hydraulic structures and the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station. A fire started at the station. “There is no threat of a breakthrough. The situation at the station dam is under control,” the department said.

CEO of Ukrhydroenergo Ihor Syrota; said on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the Russian military hit HPP-1 and HPP-2. According to him, HPP-2 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.

Sumy Oblast

In the Sumy Oblast, as a result of attacks on energy system facilities, emergency shutdown schedules were carried out in areas of the Sumy, Konotop and Shostkinsky districts.

Khmelnytskyi

In Khmelnytskyi, after the Russian strike, infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged, there were dead and injured among civilians, reports the mayor of the city, Oleksandr Symсhyshyn. Two people were killed and 8 people were injured.

Poltava Oblast

In the Poltava Oblast, the roofs of three private houses in the Myrhorod Raion were damaged by rocket fragments; there were no casualties. Preventive shutdowns of substations have been applied in the region and an emergency shutdown schedule has been introduced.

Other damaged settlements and facilities

Impacts on critical infrastructure facilities were also recorded in Vinnytsia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa Oblast and Dnipro. Emergency power outages to maintain balance in the energy system of Ukraine were (also) introduced in Kirovohrad Oblast and in Dnipro. In Kirovohrad Oblast no damage or shutdown of critical infrastructure facilities was recorded.

Reaction

Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko called the Russian strike the largest attack on the Ukrainian energy sector in recent times.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov for the first time stated that “Russia is in a state of war with Ukraine” and stopped calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “special operation”.

See also

• April 2023 Sloviansk airstrike
• Russian war crimes