Russia has carried out its largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the start of the war, launching a total of 948 drones over a 24-hour period, Ukrainian officials said.
According to Ukraine's Air Force, 556 drones were fired during daytime hours alone (an unusual tactic) while overnight strikes included hundreds more drones and dozens of missiles. Despite intercepting many of them, Ukrainian defenses reported multiple direct hits across the country.
In the western city of Lviv, a strike damaged the 16th-century Bernardine monastery, part of a UNESCO-listed historic center. Nearby residential buildings caught fire, and at least 32 people were injured.
Elsewhere, in Ivano-Frankivsk, two people were killed and a maternity hospital was damaged. Additional casualties were reported in Vinnytsia, while Ternopil also sustained direct hits.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the dimension of the attacks demonstrates that Moscow has no intention of ending the war. Officials noted that drones entered Ukrainian airspace in large coordinated groups, expanding the geographical scope of strikes, particularly into western regions that had previously seen fewer attacks.
The escalation comes as peace talks have stalled and the broader geopolitical situation remains volatile, with the ongoing conflict involving United States, Israel and Iran further complicating diplomatic efforts.
The war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, continues with near-daily strikes, leaving few parts of Ukraine untouched.