Russian missile strikes hit Ukraine's energy sites on 22 March 2024
A look back at a day of ballistic missile attacks that damaged power infrastructure in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Vinnytsia.
What did a second consecutive day of Russian missile attacks mean for Ukraine's regions? On 22 March 2024, Russia launched dozens of ballistic missiles at Ukrainian cities, and more than a million people were left without power across the country. Five people were reported killed and dozens more injured.
Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Vinnytsia
In Kharkiv, power outages were reported after critical infrastructure was damaged. In Vinnytsia, a critical infrastructure object was hit. Zaporizhzhia came under the heaviest reported fire, with at least eight missile strikes.
The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station in Zaporizhzhia was struck by a missile, causing extensive damage and a large fire. A trolleybus, initially reported as carrying civilians, was destroyed in the attack. It was later confirmed to have been empty apart from its driver, who was killed. Shelling also damaged one of the two power lines connected to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
The days before
The strikes followed a series of attacks earlier in the week. On 20 March 2024, a Russian missile strike killed at least five people and injured eight others in an industrial area of Kharkiv. On 21 March 2024, 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, at least one civilian was killed and four injured in a ballistic missile attack on Mykolaiv.
On the ground in the east, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced on 21 March 2024 that its forces had captured the village of Tonenke in Donetsk Oblast.
Taken together, the reports from 20 to 22 March 2024 show attacks reaching cities from Kharkiv in the north-east to Mykolaiv in the south and Kyiv in the capital region, with 22 March marked by widespread damage to power infrastructure.
