The Russian missile attacks on Ukraine are causing more and more victims and damage. In the evening, the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa was hit by a rocket that injured three women, the regional military administration said. The only information about the damage was that “civil infrastructure objects” had been hit. It was later reported that power was out for a total of 300,000 people in the city.

There was also an air alert in other parts of Ukraine in the evening. The capital Kiev was attacked with rockets, which, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, injured seven people in the central district of Pechersk. An unoccupied three-story building was damaged. Rocket debris also fell in three other parts of the city.

Kyiv: 2,000 rockets fired since war began

The Ukrainian air defense system says it has shot down 2,000 cruise missiles and rockets in the more than two years since the start of the Russian war of aggression. The modern anti-aircraft systems provided by Ukraine's partners have saved thousands of lives, the Ministry of Defense in Kiev announced on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

However, the agency did not provide information on how many rockets and cruise missiles were not intercepted by anti-aircraft defenses. The defense against drones was also not included in these statistics. The ministry agreed with President Volodymyr Zelensky's request for additional anti-aircraft systems in order to better protect the population of Ukraine. “The civilian infrastructure remains the main target of Russian attacks,” it said.

Advice on countermeasures

The Ukrainian military leadership met to discuss possible measures against the increased Russian attacks. "We discussed how we can further reduce Russia's terrorist potential," said President Zelensky in his evening video address. “We are clearly planning our actions.” However, Zelensky did not provide any details.

Discontent in Poland

After the alleged penetration of a Russian missile into Polish airspace on its way to western Ukraine, there is still unrest in Warsaw. Despite being summoned, the Russian ambassador to Poland did not appear at the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw to explain the alleged violation of Polish airspace by a Russian cruise missile.

The diplomat did not come to the scheduled meeting, so the diplomatic note with the request to clarify the incident will now be forwarded to the Russian Foreign Ministry via a different route, a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry told the PAP agency.

According to Polish information, Russia briefly violated the airspace of NATO member Poland on Sunday morning during the rocket attacks on western Ukraine. According to the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, at 4:23 a.m. on March 24, there was an airspace violation caused by a cruise missile launched by a Russian long-range aircraft.

Poland and NATO discussed possible protective measures against a renewed penetration of Russian missiles into Polish airspace. The Foreign Office in Warsaw announced that a conversation between Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg discussed ways to strengthen the security of Polish and allied airspace. Stoltenberg was informed about the details of the incident and the procedures initiated.

More fighting on the fronts of Ukraine

Russian and Ukrainian troops once again fought fierce battles on the Ukrainian fronts. The General Staff in Kiev said a total of 45 combat operations were registered during the day. The Russian units were supported with 56 air strikes. The information could not be independently verified.

Four women were injured in a Russian attack in Kharkiv in the east of the country, the region's judicial authorities said. According to initial investigations, they were injured by the explosion of an aircraft bomb.

Kremlin spokesman: Must protect Russians in eastern Ukraine

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has hinted at further Russian attacks in Ukraine. Russia must do everything it can to protect the residents of the occupied and now annexed territories in eastern Ukraine, Peskov was quoted as saying by the state agency Tass.

The sections belonging to these areas that are still controlled by the Ukrainian army would have to be “liberated”. In addition, the Russian military must act in such a way "that the military potential of the Kiev regime cannot threaten the security of our people and our regions."