On 24 April 2024, two Russian S-300 missiles hit a central street in Zolochiv town of Kharkiv region, damaging the editorial office of local newspaper Zorya, as well as a nearby building previously used by the local district administration. Ukrainian media reported on the incident, with Zorya’s editor-in-chief Vasyl Myroshnyk additionally confirming the damage to press freedom group Institute of Mass Information (IMI). According to Myroshnyk, eight windows at Zorya’s office were damaged in the attack, some of which had already been broken as a result of Russian attacks in 2022. The building’s façade was also damaged by debris from the explosion, Myroshnyk explained. No one was inside Zorya’s office at the moment of the strike, which took place at night, the outlet’s editor-in-chief said.
Myroshnyk added that local authorities had provided Zorya with materials needed to temporarily protect the inside of the office after its windows were broken. He explained, however, that these would not be fixed for the time being, as they could be destroyed again as a result of a new Russian attack. Viktor Kovalenko, the head of Zolochiv’s military administration, told regional public outlet Suspilne Kharkiv that 10 buildings were damaged in total in Russia’s night time strike on April 24, including several public utility buildings. As with the office of Zorya, no one was in these buildings at the time of the attack.