Destroyed building, fire, casualties: Consequences of Russian drone attacks on Dnipro and Odesa

Explosions in Odesa and Dnipro

Late Thursday evening, the Air Force urged residents of Odesa and Izmail to urgently take shelter due to the launch of Kh-22 missiles from the Black Sea towards the southern regions from several Russian Tu-22M3 aircraft, which had previously taken off from the Engels airfield. The military also warned about the threat of Shahed attacks around 10:00 PM, which were also flying from the Black Sea towards the Odesa region.

Local authorities also reminded about informational silence rules and urged people to go to safe places and stay there until the air raid is over. It was around 11:00 PM when the explosion in the Odesa area began.

Around half past midnight, the Defense Forces reported movement of Shahed drones in the sky over Ukraine. Enemy drones flew towards the Dnipropetrovsk region and Dnipro.

Explosions were heard in Dnipro around 12:43 AM, with subsequent ones heard in the suburbs of Dnipro around 01:36 AM.

Consequences

As the head of the Odesa RMA, Oleh Kiper, reported after midnight, a fire broke out on a civilian infrastructure object in Odesa as a result of the Russian drone attack. The official added that there was information about injured people and talked about the work of emergency services at the scene.

Later, the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine reported that the enemy attacked the Odesa region with Shaheds and Kh-31P and Kh-22 missiles, launched from tactical and strategic aviation from the Black Sea. The military noted that the enemy missiles lost their combat capability in the air. 9 Russian kamikaze drones were also shot down.

"One of the drones downed over the sea crashed into a building of an enterprise in the coastal zone of Odesa, causing destruction and fire. A security guard was rescued from the damaged building, she was unharmed," the military added.

Initially, one fatality was reported, found during the firefighting.

The number of fatalities had risen to three by morning. The bodies of two more people were retrieved from the rubble. The search operation was suspended.

In Dnipro, local authorities initially reported that four people were injured due to the enemy kamikaze drone hitting a high-rise apartment building.

However, later in the morning, the Dnipro RMA reported an increase in the number of injured and affected to eight people. Emergency rescue operations are ongoing at the scene.

As the head of the Dnipto RMA later added, besides the high-rise building in Dnipro, the enemy also targeted an enterprise.

"Out of the eight injured due to the attack, two remain in the hospital. Their condition is assessed as moderately severe. The rest will receive outpatient treatment," his statement said.

Russian attack and Ukrainian air defense operations

According to the command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian forces attacked Ukrainian territory on the night of February 23 with drones and missiles of various types. Combat operations to repel the air attack were carried out in four regions.

In total, the enemy launched 31 Shahed drones onto Ukraine, of which 23 were shot down by Ukrainian air defense systems.

In addition to kamikaze drones, the enemy also attacked Ukraine with three guided anti-aircraft missiles S-300, anti-radar missile Kh-31P, and two cruise missiles Kh-22.

"23 attack UAVs were destroyed within the Odesa, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions," the defenders of the sky reported.