Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 24, 2026 Russian forces launched nearly 1,000 drones and missiles against Ukraine in a prolonged strike series from the evening of March 23 to the evening of March 24, marking the largest such attack of the war. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 426 drones and missiles overnight, followed by 556 drones during the day, totaling over 1,000 strike assets. Of these, Ukrainian forces downed 256 drones and 25 missiles overnight, and 541 of the 556 drones launched during the day. The strikes targeted multiple regions, including Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Vinnytsia, and Zaporizhia, with damage reported to civilian, energy, and transport infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that overnight strikes killed at least four civilians and targeted 11 oblasts. Russian forces struck a UNESCO World Heritage site in Lviv City during the day on March 24. Drones attacked the Bernardine Monastery in central Lviv, causing a fire. Lviv Oblast Military Administration Head Maksym Kozytskyi noted that damage assessments are ongoing. The strikes represented a significant shift in Russian tactics, allowing Russia to threaten more areas of Ukraine for extended periods and disproportionately target civilian regions. Ukrainian defense experts observed that Russia extended the duration of its strike packages to identify vulnerabilities in Ukrainian air defenses and overwhelm them with a mix of drones and missiles. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces often launched minimal missiles for multiple days before deploying large strike packages, likely stockpiling weapons to maximize damage.#ukraine #volodymyr_zelensky #russian_offensive_campaign_assessment #chernihiv #dnieper_oblast
