Missile strikes across Ukraine in the days before 26 March 2024
A look back at the Russian attacks on cities and energy sites, and the front-line claims, reported between 20 and 24 March 2024.
What had the days leading up to 26 March 2024 looked like for Ukraine's regions? As reported at the time, they brought a run of Russian missile and drone attacks on cities from Kharkiv to Lviv, alongside Russian claims of gains in Donetsk Oblast.
Strikes on cities
On 20 March 2024, a Russian missile strike on an industrial area of Kharkiv killed at least five people and injured eight others. The next day, 21 March, Russia launched a massive attack with ballistic and cruise missiles on Kyiv and the surrounding region, injuring at least 17 people. On the same day, a Russian ballistic missile attack on Mykolaiv killed at least one civilian and injured four others.
Energy infrastructure hit
On 22 March 2024, Russia fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Ukrainian cities for a second consecutive day. Power outages were reported in Kharkiv after critical infrastructure was damaged. At least eight missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia were reported, and a "critical infrastructure object" was damaged in Vinnytsia. More than a million people were left without power across Ukraine, with five people killed and dozens more reportedly injured.
In Zaporizhzhia, a missile hit the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, causing extensive damage and a large fire. A trolleybus first reported as carrying civilians was destroyed; it was later confirmed to have been empty apart from the driver, who was killed. Shelling also damaged one of the two power lines connected to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
On 24 March 2024, Russia launched major airstrikes on Kyiv and Lviv in Western Ukraine using Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and drones. The strikes damaged ground-level infrastructure at Ukraine's main gas storage site.
Claims in Donetsk Oblast
On the ground, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced on 21 March 2024 that its forces had captured the village of Tonenke in Donetsk Oblast. On 23 March, the Russian military stated that it had captured the town of Ivanivske, also in Donetsk Oblast.
The picture by 26 March
Taken together, the reports from 20 to 24 March 2024 showed attacks reaching the east, south, centre and west of the country, with energy facilities among the sites damaged, from a hydroelectric station in Zaporizhzhia to the gas storage site and the power network serving hundreds of thousands of households.
