Russia launches ballistic missile and 139 UAVs overnight: seven Ukrainian oblasts affected
Russian forces launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine overnight into Tuesday, using a ballistic missile and 139 drones, impacting seven regions with damage and injuries, the Ukrainian Air Force Command reported.
From 6:00 p.m. on March 24, Russia deployed an Iskander-M ballistic missile from occupied Crimea alongside 139 Shahed strike drones and decoy UAVs, launched from Millerovo, Kursk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, and Chauda in occupied Crimea, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
By 9:00 a.m., air defenses had downed 78 drones across southern, northern, and central Ukraine, while 34 decoy drones were lost to radar without causing harm. The assault affected Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Odesa oblasts.
In Poltava Oblast, two enterprise workers were injured—one hospitalized with possible barotrauma—after drone debris ignited a fire and damaged a hangar in the Myrhorod district.
Kirovohrad Oblast head Andriy Raykovych confirmed downed drones with no casualties, while Cherkasy Oblast governor Ihor Taburets reported 10 UAVs destroyed over the region, also without injuries or property damage. Assessments and debris recovery by law enforcement continue.
In Kharkiv Oblast’s Izyum, drones struck an enterprise, sparking a major fire and causing damage, though no casualties were reported.
Overnight into March 23, a drone strike killed three in Kyiv, including a child, and the following night, Russia launched 99 drones, with 57 shot down and debris causing damage in several oblasts.
