Russia has launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the war began, deploying hundreds of drones and missiles across the country within a 24-hour period, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, a total of 948 drones were launched, including 556 during daytime hours — an unusual and significant escalation in attack patterns.
The strikes targeted multiple cities, including Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Vinnytsia, causing widespread destruction and civilian casualties.
Ukrainian authorities confirmed that at least three people were killed and dozens injured in the daytime attacks, while an earlier overnight assault left five more dead.
Despite air defense systems intercepting a large number of incoming threats, officials acknowledged multiple direct hits across the country.
In Lviv, a major cultural hub in western Ukraine, a 16th-century Bernardine monastery—part of a UNESCO World Heritage site—was damaged during the strikes.
Footage released by local authorities showed flames engulfing a nearby residential building after a drone impact. Regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported that at least 32 people were injured in the city alone.
In Ivano-Frankivsk, the situation was equally grim. Officials said two people were killed and four others, including a six-year-old child, were injured after strikes hit residential areas and a maternity hospital, raising alarm over civilian safety.
Meanwhile, Ternopil also reported direct hits but no casualties, while in Vinnytsia, one person was killed and 13 injured, according to regional officials.
Reacting to the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia’s actions, stating that the scale and intensity of the assault demonstrated Moscow’s unwillingness to pursue peace.
“This clearly shows that Russia has no intention of really ending this war,” he said in his evening address.
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force, Yurii Ihnat, described the attack as one of the most extensive since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. He noted that large groups of drones entered Ukrainian airspace from the north, moving in coordinated formations, which made interception more challenging.
While eastern regions of Ukraine have borne the brunt of fighting over the past four years, the latest strikes indicate a broader geographical spread, with western cities increasingly coming under attack.
Russia has not issued an official statement regarding the latest offensive. However, the escalation comes amid stalled peace negotiations, which had been brokered by the United States but lost momentum following broader geopolitical tensions earlier this year.
The conflict, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, continues with near-daily strikes and mounting civilian casualties.
In a separate development, authorities in Russia’s Kursk region reported that a Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and injured 13 others, highlighting the ongoing cross-border nature of the conflict.
As global attention shifts across multiple crises, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska urged the international community not to overlook the human toll of the war, warning against allowing the suffering to become “just another statistic.”