What 23 November 2022 showed about Ukraine's war

What did one day of renewed missile strikes reveal about the pressures on Ukraine and the response from its partners? On 23 November 2022, Russian forces launched another wave of cruise missile strikes, and the effects were felt well beyond the front line.

Civilians and air defence

At least six people, all civilians, were killed in the strikes. Three of them died in an apartment block in Vyshhorod, in Kyiv Oblast, where 15 other people were injured. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that 21 of the 31 missiles targeting the capital were intercepted before they reached their targets.

Blackouts across borders

The strikes also hit the power supply. Widespread blackouts were reported in western Ukraine, and the city of Lviv was without electricity. Moldova reported what it described as massive power outages, although the country had not been directly hit by missiles.

Partners respond

The same day brought a mix of practical and political responses. British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced that the United Kingdom would send three Sea King helicopters to the Ukrainian Air Force, as part of a new £50 million support package.

The European Parliament designated Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. It cited Russian strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, including critical infrastructure, hospitals, schools and bomb shelters.

The Polish border

The day also came a week after a missile explosion in Poland. On 15 November 2022, a missile had struck the village of Przewodów, near the Ukrainian border, and killed two people. Ukraine initially accused Russia, while the United States said the missile was likely an air-defence missile fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile. Poland's prosecutor's office later confirmed, in September 2023, that an out-of-control Ukrainian S-300 air-defence missile had caused the explosion.

On 22 November 2022, Germany said it would deploy Patriot surface-to-air missile systems on the Poland–Ukraine border to protect Polish airspace. Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said he had accepted the proposal.

Why it mattered

Taken together, the reports from 23 November 2022 show strikes aimed at civilian areas and infrastructure, and a response from allies that combined military equipment, border air defence and a political declaration. The interception figure for Kyiv shows air defence was working against a large share of the incoming missiles, while the blackouts in Lviv and Moldova show how strikes on power infrastructure were being felt across a wide area.