Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on Ukraine during the night of March 16, deploying 90 unmanned aerial vehicles from various locations. Ukrainian air defence forces successfully intercepted and destroyed 47 of them, while 33 failed to reach their targets. Despite these efforts, several drones managed to hit civilian areas in multiple regions.
The Russian military launched the drones from multiple locations, including Millerovo, Bryansk, Shatalovo, Primorsko Akhtarsk, and Chauda. The air defence units neutralised the drones in the Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Odesa regions. However, some drones managed to evade interception, causing damage in Chernihiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa regions.
The attack is part of Russia’s ongoing strategy of terrorising Ukrainian cities and targeting civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian authorities continue to reinforce air defence capabilities to counter these persistent threats. The large scale drone assault comes as Ukraine strengthens cooperation with Western allies to secure additional air defence systems and advanced technology to enhance protection against aerial threats.
