What the late-March 2024 strikes meant for Ukraine's regions
A look back at three reported developments from 23 to 27 March 2024 across Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv and Lviv.
What did the days leading up to 29 March 2024 show about the pressures facing Ukraine's regions? The reports from 23 to 27 March point to attacks spread across the country, from the east to the west.
On 23 March 2024, the Russian military stated that it had captured the town of Ivanivske in Donetsk Oblast. That was a claim by Russia's military, made as part of the fighting in eastern Ukraine.
On 24 March 2024, Russia launched major airstrikes on Kyiv and on Lviv in Western Ukraine. As reported at the time, the attacks used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and drones. The strikes damaged ground-level infrastructure at Ukraine's main gas storage site.
On 27 March 2024, Russian guided bombs struck Kharkiv. One person was killed and sixteen others were injured.
Why the geography matters
Taken together, the three reports cover a front-line oblast in the east, a major city in the north-east, and the capital and a western city. The strikes were not confined to one area. Regional authorities and local services in places as far apart as Kharkiv and Lviv were therefore dealing with the effects of the war in the same week.
The damage at the gas storage site was to ground-level infrastructure, a reminder that the targets included energy facilities as well as urban areas. The Kharkiv casualties, meanwhile, showed the human cost of guided bomb strikes on a city.
