Russia has carried out its most extensive aerial assault on Ukraine in a single 24-hour period since the start of the war, launching a total of 948 drones across multiple regions, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine’s Air Force said that 556 drones were deployed during the daytime alone on Tuesday, marking a rare shift from the predominantly night-time attacks seen earlier in the conflict.
The strikes left at least three people dead and dozens injured, with damage reported in several cities.
In the western city of Lviv, a historic landmark the 16th-century Bernardine monastery, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site was damaged during the attack.
Nearby residential buildings were also hit, with local authorities reporting fires and injuries.
Elsewhere, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, a maternity hospital was struck, killing two people and injuring others, including a child.
Additional casualties were reported in Vinnytsia, where one person died and several others were wounded.
The daytime strikes followed a separate overnight barrage in which 392 drones and 34 missiles were launched, leaving at least five people dead across 11 regions.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attacks, saying the scale and intensity demonstrated that Russia has no intention of ending the war.
He described the continued strikes as evidence of sustained aggression despite ongoing international efforts to broker peace.
Ukraine’s military said it managed to intercept a large number of the incoming drones and missiles, but acknowledged that several targets were hit directly.
Officials noted that many of the drones entered Ukrainian airspace in coordinated formations, increasing the difficulty of defence operations.
Notably, western regions of Ukraine traditionally less affected than frontline eastern areas were heavily targeted in the latest assault, highlighting an apparent expansion in the scope of Russian operations.
Russia has not issued an official statement regarding the attacks.
The escalation comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled, with global attention partly diverted by other international conflicts.
Ukrainian officials have warned against allowing the humanitarian impact of the war to fade from global focus amid competing crises.
The war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, continues with near-daily strikes, leaving widespread destruction and ongoing civilian casualties across Ukraine.
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