What did the strikes of 8 January 2024 show?
A look back at a large Russian missile and drone attack that hit four Ukrainian regions, coming two days after a deadly strike in Donetsk Oblast.
What did Ukraine's air defence achieve on 8 January 2024, and what did it fail to stop? The day brought a massive Russian missile and drone attack across the country, and the figures show both outcomes.
At least four people were killed and 38 others injured in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. Ukraine said it shot down all eight drones launched, along with 18 of the 51 missiles.
Two days earlier
The attack followed another deadly strike. On 6 January 2024, according to local authorities, Russian forces hit Pokrovsk Raion in Donetsk Oblast with S-300 missiles. At least 11 people were killed, five of them children, and eight others were injured.
Taken together, the two days show a pattern of strikes that reached from the front-line east to regions farther west, with civilians among the casualties. The 8 January attack was reported as aimed at Ukrainian infrastructure, and the interception figures give a measure of what Ukraine's defences could and could not stop at the time.
