Russian forces launched an air attack on Ukraine overnight on 5-6 March, using Shahed drones and ballistic missiles that struck civilian targets in multiple cities, killing five people and injuring dozens more.
In Sumy, a Shahed drone hit a private company’s warehouse around 1:00, killing a 32-year-old security guard, according to the Sumy Oblast Prosecutor’s Office. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy Oblast reported that the attack caused a fire covering approximately 500 square meters and damaged vehicles.
The most devastating strike occurred in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, where a Russian ballistic missile hit a hotel, killing four people – three men and one woman.
Serhii Lysak, head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, reported that 32 people were injured, including a 13-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy. Most of the wounded required hospitalization, with 14 in serious condition.
Russian missile destroys hotel, kills two, while US aid pause threatens Ukraine’s air defenses
Initial reports suggested that the missile strike killed three, later the death toll rose:
“One of the injured men, aged 43, died at the hospital,” Lysak said, expressing his condolences to the family.
The Kryvyi Rih attack also damaged 14 apartment buildings, a post office, a cultural institution, 12 shops, and nearly 20 vehicles, according to Lysak.
Russia launched two missiles and over 100 drones
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 112 drones, including Shahed-type one-way attack drones and decoy UAVs, and two missiles overnight. The assault began at 19:00 on 5 March and continued through the night. Two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles were fired from Voronezh oblast in Russia and from occupied Crimea.
The drones were launched from multiple locations in Russia including Oryol, Kursk, Shatalovo, and Bryansk, as well as from Chauda in occupied Crimea.
Ukrainian air defense forces, including aviation units, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups of the Air Force and Defense Forces, responded to the attack. By 9:00, they had confirmed shooting down 68 Shahed and other types of attack drones over Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa oblasts.
An additional 43 Russian decoy drones were reported as having disappeared from radars without causing any damage. The Air Force’s figures imply that at least one drone and both missiles might have reached their intended targets.
Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts sustained damage from the Russian attacks, according to the Air Force.
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