What did 24 November 2022 reveal about Ukraine's security?

What did the Russian bombardment of Kherson on 24 November 2022 say about the security picture in Ukraine? On that date, at least 15 people were killed and 35 others injured when Russian Armed Forces shelled the southern city, part of the wider southern Ukraine campaign.

A week of missile strikes

The shelling followed a new wave of missile attacks on 23 November 2022. At least six civilians were killed, including three in an apartment block in Vyshhorod, Kyiv Oblast, where 15 other people were injured. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that 21 of the 31 missiles aimed at the capital were intercepted before reaching their targets.

The strikes also cut power well beyond the capital. Widespread blackouts were reported in western Ukraine, and Lviv was without electricity as Russian forces launched another round of cruise missiles. Moldova reported what it called massive power outages, although no missiles had hit the country directly.

Political and military responses

Allied governments were already moving on air defence and support. On 22 November 2022, Germany said it would deploy Patriot surface-to-air missile systems on the Poland–Ukraine border to protect Polish airspace, and Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said he had accepted the proposal. The offer followed the missile explosion in Przewodów, Poland, on 15 November 2022, which killed two people. Ukraine initially accused Russia of the strike, while the United States said the missile was likely a Ukrainian air-defence missile fired at an incoming Russian one. Polish prosecutors later confirmed, in September 2023, that an out-of-control Ukrainian S-300 missile caused the blast.

On 23 November 2022, 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 same day, 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 picture on 24 November 2022

Taken together, the reports from those days show attacks on civilians and energy infrastructure reaching from Kyiv Oblast to the west of the country and, on 24 November 2022, to Kherson in the south. They also show allied responses taking shape in parallel: air defence deployments near the Polish border, a British aid package and a formal political statement from the European Parliament.