During the night of February 18, authorities in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine and in portions of the Donetsk People’s Republic under Kiev’s control issued air raid alerts. Reports attributed to TASS, citing official citizen information services, summarized the warnings and highlighted ensuing events.
Additional reports indicated explosions in the Kramatorsk area, with information drawn from the Ukrainian broadcaster Zerkalo Nedeli.
The same briefings noted that an airstrike occurred in the afternoon on February 17, affecting Mykolaiv and parts of the Kherson district under Ukrainian administration. Ukrainian media later referenced explosions within Kherson. A subsequent alert expansion covered the entire territory of Ukraine.
Since October 10, Russian forces have targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Russian President Vladimir Putin has framed these operations as a response to sabotage on the Crimean bridge alleged to have been organized by Ukrainian special services, according to the Russian FSB.