The situation in the air war escalated sharply in the early hours of June 23. Massive reciprocal drone and missile attacks, carried out entirely after midnight, hit civilian targets and residential areas deep inside Ukraine and in Russian-controlled territories.
Here is a timeline of events from the night and early morning:
Ukraine under fire: Capital on alert, civilians injured
Russian forces launched a coordinated midnight attack using combat drones of various types, which triggered air defense systems in several areas:
- Kiev in the bomb shelters: In the early morning hours, an emergency air raid alert was declared in the capital. The city's military administration urged citizens to immediately seek shelter due to the imminent threat of air strikes.
- Kharkov strike: Around midnight, Mayor Igor Terekhov confirmed a new drone attack over the second largest Ukrainian city. Officially reported for one injured woman hospitalized.
- Injured in Sumy and Chernigov: Rescue services in Sumy region reported three wounded civilians in night attacks. In Chernigov region, a drone of the „Gerbera“ hit a residential building in the town of Borzna – a 45-year-old man was injured, and damage was caused to a local school and a train station.
The counterstrike: Massive drone swarm over Crimea and Donetsk
In the same hours after midnight, Ukrainian forces launched one of their largest night operations, sending about 250 aircraft-type drones against objects in Russia and the occupied zones:
- 18 injured in Donetsk: Local authorities in the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk region announced in the early hours that the wave of drones had caused severe material damage to civilian infrastructure, with 18 citizens injured.
- Roar over Crimea and Kerch: Immediately after midnight, strong air defense was activated in Crimea. The Kerch and Crimean Bridge areas were on alert, with residents reporting dozens of explosions in the sky on social media. Krasnodar Krai and Rostov Oblast were also hit, with military correspondents describing the situation as a “sky torn apart by anti-aircraft fire.”
Rescue teams in both countries are continuing to clear debris from the affected areas, with the toll on civilian infrastructure expected to rise in the coming hours.