The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Friday that it had conducted a series of retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian territory over the last week, from March 16 to March 22, in response to attacks and shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) on Russian border areas, primarily in the Belgorod region.
According to Lenta, it is noted that during this period, the Russian Armed Forces carried out 49 such strikes using long-range precision weapons launched from the air.
The strikes targeted decision-making centers and mercenaries Among other special weaponry, hypersonic "Kinzhal" missiles, missile systems, and drones were used.
The targets of the strikes were claimed to be UAF decision-making centers, airfields, weapon and military equipment repair workshops, storage facilities for drones and unmanned boats, logistical bases, as well as deployment points for Ukrainian military personnel and foreign mercenaries.
This included a strike by high-precision weapons conducted on the night of March 21 by the Russian Aerospace Forces.
They targeted "military facilities on the territory of Ukraine," stated the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Targets in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv were hit
The Ministry of Defense did not specify the exact locations of the strikes on Thursday. However, explosions were reported in Kyiv the following morning, resulting in seven-meter craters. The city's mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, reported that two enterprises and a transformer substation in the Podil district were damaged.
Ukrainian media also reported the use of "Kinzhal" missiles.
On March 17, it was reported that the Russian Armed Forces had hit an armored vehicle plant in Mykolaiv, which repaired foreign equipment, including German Leopard tanks. The same day, it was reported that underground resistance in Odessa had sabotaged a Ukrainian Armed Forces' drone warehouse, destroying about 50 drones, electronic warfare (EW) systems, and anti-drone warfare systems.
On the morning of March 22, Russian military forces launched missile strikes on the Kharkiv Transport Machinery Plant and two thermal power plants. Sergei Lebedev, the coordinator of the Mykolaiv underground, speculated that the UAF leadership responsible for attacks on the Belgorod region, as well as a group of foreign mercenaries, could have been targeted.
The retaliatory strikes also included an attack on the Dnipro Hydroelectric Station, carried out on Friday. Two missiles directly hit Hydroelectric Station-2, destroying a support column and damaging the crane beams. Igor Syrota, director of "Ukrhydroenergo," reported that the hydroelectric station ceased operation, and the damage to the station was very serious.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that on March 22, a massive strike was launched against energy facilities, as well as the military-industrial complex, railway junctions, arsenals, and locations of UAF formations and foreign mercenaries. "All targets of the massive strike were achieved," claims the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Today, for the first time, Russia has officially announced that it is at war. Read more below.
