Russia unleashed a devastating wave of drone strikes across Ukraine in the biggest aerial assault within a 24-hour period since the war began. A staggering 948 drones were launched at cities nationwide, with more than 400 of those fired in an unusual daytime blitz on Tuesday afternoon, leaving multiple people dead and scores injured across Western Ukraine.
The daylight strikes came just hours after a heavy overnight bombardment that killed at least five people. In the western city of Lviv, mayor Andriy Sadovyi said 22 residents were wounded, warning the toll was likely to rise as rescue efforts continued. Dramatic images shared by local officials showed a residential building engulfed in flames beside the historic Bernardine monastery, a 16th-century Unesco-listed site reportedly damaged in the attack. Elsewhere in western Ukraine, the cities of Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia and Ternopil were also hit. Regional chief Svitlana Onyshchuk said two people were killed in Ivano-Frankivsk, while four others – including a six-year-old child – were injured. Buildings across the city, including a maternity hospital, were damaged.
In Vinnytsia, officials said one person died and 11 were wounded in Tuesday afternoon’s strikes.
Although four years of war have left few parts of Ukraine untouched, the west has until now faced fewer and less intense attacks than frontline regions in the east.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said a « large number of drones » entered Ukrainian airspace from the north, appearing to move in coordinated columns.
He added: « The geography of the strikes during the daytime was broader than at night… It can be said this was one of the largest attacks within a 24-hour period. »
On Tuesday, the governor of Russia‘s Kursk region said one man was killed and 13 others were injured after a Ukrainian drone strike hit an agricultural enterprise.
In an emotional message on social media, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska warned the world must not turn away from the suffering caused by the conflict.
She wrote: « Amid the news the world is drowning in every day, we will not let Ukrainian grief get lost – become just another statistic, a headline that will be casually skipped over. »
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