“Russians erazed my home and took life of my grandmother”: Russia kills, injures civilians across Ukraine

Russian military forces launched a substantial aerial assault on Ukraine during the night of 23-24 March, deploying 99 drones of various types across multiple oblasts.

Since the start of the full-scale war, Russian forces have been attacking civilian and energy infrastructure in Ukraine almost daily, leading to numerous casualties and massive destruction. Despite a partial 30-day truce on energy infrastructure agreed upon by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia intensified its drone assaults on Ukrainian cities, casting doubt on the feasibility of achieving a full ceasefire by the proposed 20 April.

According to Ukrainian Air Force reports, defense units neutralized 57 drones in the country’s southern, northern, western, and central parts. An additional 36 Russian decoy drones disappeared from radar without causing damage.

The attack affected multiple oblasts, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kirovohrad, and Zaporizhzhia, resulting in civilian casualties and property damage.

Sumy 

In the Myropil community of Sumy Oblast, Russian shelling and guided aerial bombs targeted civilian infrastructure on 23 March. 

The Sumy Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported that the attack killed a 61-year-old store clerk and wounded another person.

The bombardment damaged and destroyed numerous private residences in the area. 

The 90-year-old grandmother of Ukrainian biathletes Vita and Valentyna Semerenko was killed on 23 March in Krasnopillia, Sumy Oblast, according to Vita’s post on Instagram.

She noted that her grandmother had just celebrated her 90th birthday on 21 March, Suspilne reports.

“She could have lived longer, but her life was taken by the damned Russians. When they violently erased my Krasnopillia in three days, they took my grandmother too. They erased my home, erased her life, erased the memories,” Vita Semerenko wrote.

Kyiv 

In the Fastiv district of Kyiv Oblast, a 37-year-old man sustained shrapnel wounds to his abdomen, chest, thighs, and head during the attack. He received necessary medical assistance and was hospitalized at a local medical facility.

The assault damaged two private houses in the district and caused a fire at a commercial enterprise, which was subsequently extinguished.

Zaporizhzhia 

Shortly before midnight on 24 March, explosions were reported in Zaporizhzhia. The blast wave and debris damaged windows in apartment buildings, a garage, and private houses in the vicinity, according to the head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration.

A 54-year-old woman was injured in the attack but refused hospitalization after receiving medical assistance on-site.

Emergency services responded to multiple fires caused by the drone strikes, including a garage fire, damage to a gas pipe, and burning drone debris, according to the State Emergency Service.

Kharkiv 

Russian forces struck Velyka Babka village in the Chuhuiv district with a drone, according to the Governor of Kharkiv Oblast.

The attack injured a 25-year-old pregnant woman and a 25-year-old man, both hospitalized with explosive injuries. A 77-year-old woman also experienced an acute stress reaction but declined hospitalization.

In a separate incident, Russian drones targeted an agricultural enterprise in the Kupiansk district, resulting in warehouse fires, the State Emergency Service reports.