Russian forces launched 90 Shahed drones and decoy UAVs against Ukraine overnight on 16 March, with attacks causing significant damage to residential buildings and resulting in casualties, according to Ukrainian officials.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Chernihiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa oblasts suffered damage as a result of this Russian attack.
Chernihiv attack damages apartment building
Around 22:00 on 15 March, Russian drones struck Chernihiv, with one Shahed hitting a five-story apartment building, Chernihiv City Military Administration head Dmytro Bryzhynskyi reported.
Bryzhynskyi later confirmed that drone strikes were recorded in two districts of the city. One drone hit the five-story building while another damaged two detached houses.
According to Chernihiv Oblast Military Administration head Viacheslav Chaus, the drone strike destroyed the top two floors of the apartment building. Bryzhynsky noted that two apartments in the damaged building were collapsed with limited access.
Rescue workers evacuated an elderly woman from one of the collapsed apartments, Bryzhynsky added.
- Aftermath of a Russian drone attack on Chenihiv late on 15 March 2025. Screenshot: Suspilne
Fatal attack in Izium
In Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces targeted a residential area with three Geran-2 drones on the evening of 15 March, Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration head Oleh Syniehubov reported on 16 March, for some unexplained reason using Russia’s designation for the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 drone.
According to Syniehubov, the attack occurred at 21:52, targeting the city’s residential area. A 67-year-old woman suffered shrapnel wounds and an open fracture. She was hospitalized but died from her injuries.
Three others were injured in the attack, including two 17-year-old boys and a 76-year-old woman, all of whom were hospitalized, Syniehubov said.
Izium Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin told Suspilne Kharkiv that this was the first strike on Izium since February. He confirmed that the lives of the three injured people were not in danger.
“The boys, both born in 2007, were friends who were just passing by the house hit by the drone. One boy has a shoulder injury and underwent surgery. His life is not in danger. The second boy suffered a barotrauma and was stunned. His life is also not in danger, so he was examined and sent home,” Matsokin said.
The 76-year-old woman, who was a neighbor of the deceased, sustained shrapnel wounds to her back and left leg and remains hospitalized for treatment, according to the deputy mayor.
Two injured in Odesa Oblast
Odesa Oblast authorities report that the attack damaged a detached house, a car, and a private enterprise near Odesa. A 61-year-old woman in Odesa and a 53-year-old man in Chornomorsk were injured and hospitalized, both receiving medical care.
Fire at industrial facility in Kyiv Oblast
The Kyiv Oblast Military Administration reported that the Russian drone attack two air raid alerts that lasted over seven hours. Air defense forces operated in the region, intercepting enemy targets, with no civilian casualties or damage to critical or residential infrastructure reported.
In Fastiv district, the attack sparked a fire at an industrial facility, which was promptly extinguished, according to the report.
Some 10 drones may have penetrated air defenses
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched 90 Shahed attack drones and various decoy drones against Ukraine overnight on 16 March, with Ukrainian air defenders shoting down 47 drones across nine oblasts. An additional 33 Russian decoy drones were “lost from radar without negative consequences,” according to the Air Force.
The Air Force’s data suggest that at least 10 Russian drones may have reached their intended targets.
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