Russia launched a massive drone attack against Ukraine overnight on 28 March, targeting multiple regions and causing significant damage to civilian infrastructure and industrial facilities, injuring a civilian. The Ukrainian military says Russia has targeted gas production facilities despite a negotiated energy strike ceasefire.
Odesa oblast suffers damage and casualties
Explosions were heard in Odesa city around 1:51 in the early hours of 28 March, as well as in other parts of the oblast, according to Suspilne. The Air Force had earlier warned about the threat of strike drones.
Ukraine’s Emergency Service reported that one person was injured in the Russian drone attack. Meanwhile, emergency workers and National Guard fire units extinguished the fires at the affected locations.
The Prosecutor’s Office has initiated a pre-trial investigation into war crimes following the Russian attack. According to investigators, the attack damaged and destroyed numerous houses, outbuildings, warehouses, a shop, garage facilities, and citizens’ vehicles. A 66-year-old local resident suffered from acute stress reaction and received assistance at the scene, according to the report.
Poltava targeted with focus on oil and gas facilities
In Poltava, Russian forces targeted both civilian infrastructure and administrative buildings of oil and gas industry enterprises during a massive drone strike, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
“The Russian military continues to terrorize the civilian, peaceful population of Ukraine. The Russian invaders committed another war crime by using Shahed-type UAVs to massively attack Poltava,” the General Staff stated.
Poltava Regional Military Administration reported that as of 00:25 on 28 March, damage to warehouse facilities of one of the enterprises within the Poltava community had been confirmed. No casualties were reported at that time.
The administration later clarified that Russians launched a massive UAV strike on civilian objects in industrial zones in the Poltava community. Some aerial targets were shot down by air defenders. As a result of direct hits and falling debris, damage to warehouse facilities, administrative buildings, and a transformer at one of the enterprises was recorded at six different locations.
Ukrainian oil and gas company Naftogaz later confirmed that its facilities were targeted by Russian forces, without disclosing the exact region. According to its press service, the strike damaged infrastructure related to gas production.
Seven Ukrainian regions affected by nationwide assault
According to the Air Force Command, from 18:00 on 27 March, Russians attacked with 163 Shahed-type one-way attack strike UAVs and decoy drones from several directions: Millerovo, Bryansk, Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Russia), Chauda, and Gvardeiskoye (Russian-occupied Crimea).
As of 09:00, the military confirmed shooting down 89 drones in the south, north, and center of the country. Another 51 Russian decoy drones were lost from radar without negative consequences.
The Air Force’s data suggests that at least 23 Russian drones might have reached their targets.
As a result of the Russian attack, Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts suffered damage, according to the report.
Related:
- Russia strikes Ukraine’s gas site, blames Kyiv for Russian strike on Ukraine-controlled Sudzha gas station
- ISW: Russia continues strikes on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure under energy ceasefire cover
- “Explosions threw me all the way to the door”: Russian drones targeted Kharkiv and Dnipro, injuring civilians
- Russian drones injure four civilians overnight
- Defence Blog: Russia tests new drone swarm tactic against Ukrainian cities
- Russian drone attack on Kyiv kills five-year-old girl, her father, injures her mother
- Russian aerial attacks kill five civilians in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy oblasts
- Russian drones injure 10 in Kropyvnytskyi, other strikes kill at least five other civilians
