Russia has launched the largest aerial attack on Ukraine over a 24-hour period since the war began, hitting multiple cities with 948 drones. Over 400 drones were fired on Tuesday afternoon alone, marking an unusual daytime assault that caused numerous casualties in western Ukraine.
Earlier overnight strikes killed at least five people. In Lviv, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi reported 22 injuries and warned the toll could rise, while the 16th-century Bernardine monastery suffered damage. Other western cities, including Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, and Ternopil, were also targeted.
In Ivano-Frankivsk, two people were killed and four injured, including a six-year-old. Vinnytsia saw one death and 11 injuries. The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that a large number of drones entered Ukrainian airspace from the north in coordinated columns, making this attack one of the largest in a single 24-hour period.
The ongoing war, now in its fourth year, continues to devastate Ukraine, with near-daily attacks affecting cities across the country. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone strike hit Russia’s Kursk region, killing one person and injuring 13. Peace talks brokered by the US have stalled amid broader geopolitical tensions, including recent US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
First Lady Olena Zelenska highlighted the human cost of the attacks, urging the world not to let Ukrainian suffering become “just another statistic.”
