Russia launches largest missile strike against Ukraine in months

Emergency service workers on the site of a Russian missile attack in Zolochiv district in Lviv Oblast. (Photo: Lviv Emergency Services / Telegram)

Russia launched a mass missile and drone attack across Ukraine in the early morning hours of March 9, killing at least six people and injuring at least seven. Numerous energy infrastructure sites were targeted. 

This sixteenth mass missile strike appears to be the largest Russian missile attack in months. Since October, Russia has carried out repeated attacks against Ukraine that resulted in serious damage to 40% of the country's critical energy infrastructure.

According to Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the March 9 attack included 81 missiles of varying types and 8 Iranian Shahed drones.

The latest targeted attacks were recorded in Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankvivsk, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv oblasts.

"It's been a difficult night," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, extending his condolences to those who lost loved ones in the attacks. 

"The occupiers can only terrorize civilians. That's all they can do. But it won’t help them. They won’t avoid responsibility for everything they have done," Zelensky said.

At least three people were injured as a result of the missile and drone strikes on Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. 

Due to emergency blackouts following the mass Russian attack, 40% of the capital's residents were without heating, Klitschko said. 

A 34-year-old man died and 8-year-old woman and a 19-year-old boy were injured in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast as a result of Russia's missile and drone strikes, Governor Serhiy Lysak said.

Energy infrastructure in the oblast also suffered "serious" damages and repair workers are already on site, the governor said. 

A 71-year-old woman was hospitalized, and a 74-year-old woman was treated at the scene in the village of Pisochyn, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

According to the governor, Russia hit Kharkiv Oblast with S-300 missiles overnight. Critical infrastructure was hit, including in the city of Kharkiv. All emergency services are on site, the governor said.

Governor Vitaliy Kim said that 9 missiles were launched at Mykolaiv Oblast and subsequently shot down by air defense. There were no casualties. 

Missile strikes in Odesa Oblast caused damage to energy infrastructure, Governor Maksym Marchenko said. According to the governor, air defense shot down 6 missiles and one drone over Odesa Oblast. No casualties have been reported. 

A drone attack in Zhytomyr Oblast caused damage to energy infrastructure, Governor Vitaliy Buchenko wrote. There are no reported casualties. 

In Kirovohrad Oblast, critical infrastructure was targeted with missiles and drones, Governor Andriy Raykovych said. A power plant was also hit. There are no reported casualties.

Five people were killed by a Russian missile strike that hit a residential area in the Zolochiv district in Lviv Oblast on March 9, Governor Maksym Kozytsky said.  

According to the governor, two men and two women were killed at home when the missile hit. First responders are still searching under the rubble for others who may have also been at home at the time of the attack.  

The attack caused fires that destroyed three homes, three cars, a garage, and several outbuildings. The fires have already been put out, according to Kozytsky.

Critical infrastructure was targeted by 5 Russian missiles in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to the Zaporizhzhia Oblast military administration. There are no reported casualties and the situation is "under control."

Ternopil Oblast Governor Volodymyr Trush reported that missile fragments damaged 5 buildings in the Pidhaitsi community, including one residential building. No casualties have been reported. 

Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk said that an energy facility in Ivano-Frankvivsk Oblast was targeted. No casualties were reported. 

Previously, during the Feb. 16. mass strike, Russia launched 32 missiles at Ukraine, while on Feb. 10, there was a total of 71 missiles launched.