In a massive overnight assault on 1 February, Russian forces launched a coordinated attack across multiple Ukrainian oblasts, using 165 aerial attack means, including ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and 123 Shahed drones.
Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities occur almost daily, especially in frontline cities and villages. They’ve been characterized as Russian terror against civilians to instill fear and despair. Russian strikes also target energy infrastructure, aiming to cripple Ukraine’s ability to sustain its military efforts and maintain civilian life during winter.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported they had tracked 165 enemy air targets, including:
- 7 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles
- 7 Iskander-K cruise missiles
- 8 X-22/32 cruise missiles
- 8 X-101/X-55cm cruise missiles
- 10 guided aviation missiles X-59/X-69
- 2 guided aviation missiles X-31P
- 123 Shahed drones and mimicking drones
Ukraine’s air defense reported intercepting 56 drones, with an additional 61 drones failing to reach their targets.
Some of the enemy cruise missiles were destroyed by air defense, however some struck civilian objects and critical energy infrastructure.
Russia targeted Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Kyiv oblasts.
Russian attack on Poltava
The most devastating strike occurred in Poltava, where an X-22 rocket hit a residential building.
According to the Poltava Regional Military Administration, the attack resulted in 7 deaths and 17 injuries, including four children aged 3 months, 2, 8, and 12 years old.
In Poltava, the X-22 rocket destroyed an entire residential building entrance from the 1st to 5th floors. Eighteen adjacent multi-apartment buildings and a kindergarten sustained damage. Rescue workers saved 22 people from the site.
“We went to a shelter in time. We don’t go there during every air raid alert but this time we decided to go. God protects the cautious. In the shelter, we heard the hit. My apartment is fully destroyed. My apartment was on the 4th floor. Right now they are clearing it out,” a Poltava resident Vladislav Leshchenko told Suspilne.
“I was lying down when I heard an explosion. My leg was cut. I was already stitched up in a hospital. During the explosion, the windows flew out in the kitchen; the refrigerator was thrown right into the corridor. My husband was in the toilet, the children were in another room with their grandmother. We are all alive luckily,” said Asia Brel, a Poltava resident.
Residents in affected areas have been advised to utilize social support programs and apply for temporary housing where necessary.
Russian attack on Kharkiv
In Kharkiv, a 60-year-old woman was killed, and five people were injured when a Shahed drone struck a private sector area. According to Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov, 20 houses were damaged, with 90 windows broken.
“This is real terrorism, on a Saturday, on a weekend day. The attack happened in the morning when people were at home. This is terrorism,” said the mayor.
In the village of Cherkaska Lozova in Kharkiv Oblast, private houses were damaged, and a garage was destroyed due to the explosion of the Russian drone’s combat part. The fire engulfed the garage and two passenger cars.
Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia
Russian forces launched 16 drones at Zaporizhzhia, damaging civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and an educational institution. A 57-year-old man was injured in the assault.
Russian attack on Kyiv Oblast
Ukraine’s air defense systems also intercepted drones over Kyiv Oblast. Falling debris caused a fire at a private house in the Boryspil district and damaged two other private homes, outbuildings, and a car.
In the Fastiv district, debris ignited a 30-square-meter fire at a warehouse facility. Fire crews extinguished both blazes.
There were no casualties or injuries reported.
Related:
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- Russian attack on Ukraine kills 4 people, injures at least 15 overnight
