Strana 27
Civilian Targets
And what targets did Russia attack?
On Friday, March 7 in the evening, it was
the city center of Dobropillia in the Donetsk
region. Rockets with cluster munitions struck
the area. It was Russia’s infamous "double-
tap" strike—launching a second wave to kill
rescuers aiding victims of the first. The result:
eight five-story apartment buildings were
destroyed or damaged, and a shopping center
was hit. Worse yet, 11 people were killed and
50 injured, including 7 children.
On Wednesday, March 12, a similar double-
tap attack hit the city center of Kryvyi Rih.
The target was the Druzhba Hotel. Once
rescuers arrived, a second missile struck.
Nine people were seriously injured. On the
same day, an Iskander missile struck a cargo
ship flying the flag of Barbados docked in
the port of Odesa. Shrapnel killed four crew
members.
Odesa was again targeted on Friday, March
21, when Russia launched 214 drones in three
waves against four Ukrainian cities. Ukrainians
shot down 114 drones; another 84 crashed due
to jamming or were simply decoys designed to
overwhelm air defenses. The attack on Odesa
occurred during a visit by Czech President Petr
Pavel. Drones struck a shopping center and
residential buildings, killing two and injuring
ten.
On Sunday, March 23, Russian drones again
targeted multiple Ukrainian cities. In Kyiv,
several high-rise apartment buildings were
hit. In one of them, a man and his 5-year-old
daughter—who had fled from Orikhiv in the
Zaporizhzhia region—were killed. The mother
was the only survivor, injured and hospitalized.
On Saturday, March 29, Russia launched
several ballistic missiles at Kryvyi Rih, hitting
homes, a car wash, and a school, injuring
seven. Kamikaze drones struck Dnipro, killing
four people and injuring more than 20. Eleven
homes, an auto shop, a hotel, and a restaurant
were damaged. Russian propaganda then
used its usual formula, claiming that
“10 NATO officers and members of Ukraine's
secret services who were celebrating at the
restaurant” had been killed.
Mirage in Action for the First Time
One of the largest Russian air raids of the
war occurred at the beginning of the reporting
period but deserves its own section because,
in addition to F-16s, French Mirage 2000-5F
fighter jets took part in Ukrainian defense
efforts for the first time.
On Friday, March 7, Russia launched
a massive assault on Ukraine’s energy
infrastructure: 194 Shahed drones and
67 missiles and cruise missiles. The missile
group included 35 Kh-101/Kh-55s, 8 Kalibrs,
8 Kh-59/69s, 3 Iskander missiles, and 4 S-300
missiles used in a ground-to-ground mode.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 100 drones
and 34 missiles. Another 86 drones crashed.
In Kharkiv, the attack damaged at least
30 homes, and in Poltava, a gas facility was
hit. Two people were killed and 24 injured.
After the attack, a video from the cockpit of
a Ukrainian Mirage 2000-5F fighter jet was
published, showing the downing of one Russian
cruise missile.
Just like the F-16s in their early days of
deployment last year, the Mirage jets are
now taking part in defense against Russian
UKRAINE
On March 21 Odesa was also targeted, during a visit by Czech President Petr Pavel.
City of Dnipro in flames after a raid by the Russian kamikaze drones.
Russian drones often veer off course and crash due to electronic jamming
or technical failure. This Shahed drone flew as far as Kazakhstan.
A “warhead” made of wooden
slats inside a drone sent as
a decoy to overwhelm
Ukrainian air defenses.
INFO Eduard
27
May 2025