Russian forces struck Zaporizhzhia with three aerial bombs during the night of 24 December, damaging residential buildings and injuring three people, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov.
"At least three enemy strikes hit the regional center. Preliminary reports indicate damage to a residential building," Fedorov stated. The attack also set garages and vehicles on fire. Emergency services responded to the scene.
By 7:00 am, the governor reported casualties. "Already three injured. Women aged 75 and 35 and a 46-year-old man sought medical help," he wrote.
The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine warned residents about the danger around 3:40 am, reporting guided aerial bombs heading toward Zaporizhzhia.
The overnight attack was part of a larger assault involving 116 strike drones across Ukraine, according to the Air Force. Ukrainian air defense systems destroyed or suppressed 60 drones, but 48 struck 19 locations.
Russia launched Shahed drones, Gerbera drones, and other UAV types from multiple directions: Millerovo, Kursk, Shatalovo, Orel, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, as well as from Gvardiyske in temporarily occupied Crimea. Approximately 90 of the drones were Shaheds, according to Air Force calculations.
The Air Force reported that Russia directed a significant number of strike drones at a critical infrastructure facility in Chernihiv Oblast. A drone hit a residential high-rise building in Chernihiv, and an attack on an energy facility in Chernihiv district left part of the city without power.
Ukrainian aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units, drone units, and mobile fire groups repelled the air attack. As of 8:30 am, 60 Russian drones had been shot down or suppressed in the north, south, and east of the country.
