Overnight into 24 March, the Russian troops attacked Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast with Su-35 fighter jets that dropped “more than ten guided air bombs” from Russia across the border, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on the national telethon.
“It is an extremely big threat when guided air bombs, gliding bombs, can fly far and the aircraft do not enter the kill zone of our air defenses,” he said.
Later, the Air Force Command updated that Russian tactical aircraft were launched from two Russian airfields, Morozovsk and Akhtubinsk – ten Su-35 fighters launched 11 guided aerial bombs and one Kh-31P missile at Sumy Oblast.
Russia employs new 1,500-kg gliding bomb in Ukraine – Defense Express
The Sumy Oblast Military administration says the Russian forces attacked five border communities using various weapons last night:
- Bilopillia town saw massive Russian shelling, including an air strike, 80 incoming BM-21 Grad rockets, and 20 tube artillery hits, which killed two civilians, injured nine, destroyed an administrative building, a school, a residential house, and damaged apartment and detached houses, and a dormitory.
- Vorozhba town came under MLRS fire that damaged a residential house and injured one civilian.
- An air attack and a kamikaze drone strike on Vyry village in Richky hromada damaged a kindergarten and an administrative building, and an artillery strike on the hromada capital, Richky village, damaged residential homes, an administrative building, and a school.
- An agricultural firm came under air strike in Mykolaivka rural hromada.
- Nova Sloboda rural hormada also came under fire.
Russian troops retreated from Sumy Oblast bordering Russia in the north last March, but continued almost daily harassing cross-border fire attacks on the region.
Russians also tried to attack Odesa city with two guided air missiles, and managed to hit Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with Shahed-series drones.
On Mar 23 evening, Ukraine’s Air Force Command South said that “the air defense forces shot down two Kh-59 air-to-surface guided missiles fired by Russian Su-35 fighters from the Black Sea in Odesa Oblast.”
Days ago, Russia fired three Kh-59s at Odesa: https://t.co/AqKAXjONVk
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 24, 2023
Last night, Russia attacked the city of Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, with Shahed-series drones – mayor Vilkul
One was shot down, five scored hits, no injuries, he sayshttps://t.co/BinGaEvPPU
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 24, 2023
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