On the night of February 22, Russian troops launched a large-scale strike on the territory of Ukraine, using strategic bombers Tu-95MS and Tu-160, as well as hundreds of strike drones. This was reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Around two in the morning, groups of drones appeared in the sky over the Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad and Donetsk regions. Around four in the morning, ballistic missile launches began from the northern direction and from Crimea. Monitoring channels suggested the use of Zircon missiles. MiG-31Ks, carriers of the “Daggers”, took to the air, and strategic bombers carried out launch maneuvers.
The first explosions were heard at around 04:00. Within an hour, at least 13 high-speed missiles were fired at Kyiv and the agglomeration. The head of the KMVA, Timur Tkachenko, reported on the work of the air defense and urged residents to stay in shelters. A fire broke out on the roof of a high-rise building in the Svyatoshynskyi district.
In Kropyvnytskyi, explosions were recorded at around 04:16 and 04:21. They were heard in Mykolaiv at 05:22, in Poltava at around 05:40, when cruise missiles flew over the region. Explosions were also heard in Odessa, Cherkasy and other regions.
Around 05:30, the missiles entered the airspace over Sumy region and split into several directions. According to monitoring channels, the targets moved through Poltava, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad and Vinnytsia regions, changing course to complicate the work of air defense.
More than ten missiles were heading towards Kyiv from the north through Chernihiv and Zhytomyr regions. In the south, the movement of cruise missiles was recorded in the direction of the Odessa and Mykolaiv regions.
The consequences of the massive attack are being clarified.
Poland raised fighter jets into the sky and prepared air defenses due to the Russian attack on Ukraine.
