Russian forces struck a nine-story apartment building in Kharkiv's Kyiv district with a rocket in the early hours of Friday, 27 March, then followed up with a drone strike on the same district less than an hour later. Six residents were recorded with acute stress reactions. Separately, a drone strike in Zaporizhzhia the previous evening damaged the facade of another residential high-rise.
Kharkiv: rocket, then drone
Explosions were heard in Kharkiv at around 00:30 and again shortly before 01:20. "Russian forces struck a high-rise in the Kyiv district of Kharkiv with a rocket — there are casualties," Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported at 01:25. About ten minutes later he posted a second update: "We also have an enemy drone strike on the Kyiv district. We are clarifying the details."
By 02:27 Terekhov had the full toll: "Six people were injured as a result of the Russian strike on the nine-story building in the Kyiv district of Kharkiv — all have acute stress reactions."
Zaporizhzhia: facade and windows
On the evening of 26 March, a Russian drone struck a high-rise in Zaporizhzhia. According to Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, the strike damaged the building's facade and blew out windows. No casualties were reported.
Overnight alert map
The strikes were part of a broader overnight UAV campaign tracked across multiple regions. Air Force reporting placed drones over the Black Sea heading toward southern Odesa oblast (Tatarbunary) at 05:23; a group in Sumy oblast heading toward Nedryhailiv at 06:08; and a UAV tracked over Dnipropetrovsk oblast in the direction of Pavlohrad at 04:12. Air defences were reported active in Zaporizhzhia again by 06:53. Russian aircraft also launched guided aerial bombs targeting Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts, the Air Force reported at 03:33.
Pattern of strikes
The Kharkiv hits follow consecutive nights of attacks on the city. On 26 March, a drone struck the Slobidskyi district, injuring two — a 65-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman. On 25 March, shahed drones hit the Kholodnohirskyi and Novobavarski districts, setting cars ablaze, damaging a gas network and igniting a roof fire, and injuring nine people, including a child.
Zaporizhzhia has also been struck repeatedly. On the night of 23–24 March, the city was hit with shaheds and ballistic missiles, killing at least one person and injuring five. On 21 March, a drone attack killed two people and wounded six.
