Russia launched nearly 1,000 drones and missiles at Ukraine over the past 24 hours, marking one of the largest aerial assaults since the start of the war and signaling a potential escalation in the conflict. The attacks, which began overnight and continued throughout Tuesday, targeted cities across the country, including civilian areas.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that 556 attack drones were launched between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM local time on Tuesday, adding to the 392 drones and 34 missiles fired overnight. This barrage represents a significant increase in the scale and intensity of Russian attacks.
At least seven people have been killed and 73 injured across Ukraine as a result of the attacks, according to Ukrainian officials. The daytime strikes particularly impacted western Ukraine, a region previously considered relatively safe from intense fighting.
“At this scale, it’s almost unprecedented. I don’t remember there being daytime strikes with such a large number of drones,” Yuriy Ignat, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, told AFP. The intensity of the attacks underscores the challenges Ukraine faces in defending its airspace and protecting its civilian population.
– Loin du front –
The strikes caused casualties and damage hundreds of kilometers from the front lines, where Ukrainian and Russian forces have been engaged in fierce fighting since February 2022. In Ivano-Frankivsk, a city in western Ukraine, two people were killed and four others injured, regional administrator Svitlana Onychtchouk reported, adding that at least ten residential buildings and a maternity hospital sustained damage.
In the Vinnytsia region, authorities reported at least one death and eleven injuries due to the bombardments. Several strikes hit the historic center of Lviv, a UNESCO World Heritage site, wounding at least 22 people, according to Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadoviy.
A 17th-century complex in the center of Lviv was too damaged, according to Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv region military administration. Video footage shared on Telegram and geolocated by AFP showed flames erupting from the roof of a two-story building near the Saint Andrew’s Church.
Another video posted by a local media outlet showed rescue workers waiting inside the church, urging civilians to move away from the entrance.
– “Essaims de drones” –
Air raid alerts remained in effect in the Vinnytsia region throughout the afternoon. “Throughout the day, Russia has been terrorizing many cities across Ukraine with swarms of +Shahed+ drones,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga denounced on X.
“Russia is doing exactly what the Iranian regime is doing in the Middle East but in the heart of Europe,” he continued, referencing similar drone attacks launched by Iran in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko earlier described the overnight wave of attacks as “deliberate terror against civilians,” which impacted eleven regions in total.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that 392 drones and 34 missiles were launched overnight, with 365 and 25 respectively being intercepted. Local authorities reported five deaths and dozens of injuries in the regions of Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk.
– “Davantage de protection”, demande Zelensky –
“These figures clearly show that more protection is needed to save lives,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media Tuesday morning. He called for increased European production of anti-aircraft missiles and the timely implementation of all defense agreements.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that “enterprises of the military-industrial complex” and military airfields in Ukraine were targeted overnight.
In Russia, one person was killed and 13 injured in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Kursk region, which borders northern Ukraine, according to regional governor Alexander Khinchtein.
Negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, mediated by the United States, aimed at ending the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, have been suspended following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. A new meeting between Ukrainian negotiators and American emissaries took place over the weekend in the United States in an attempt to revive the diplomatic process.
However, the Ukrainian president expressed regret on Sunday, after the conclusion of the meeting, that “the situation around Iran” was “the main focus of the American side.” He is seeking a “clear” timeline for the resumption of talks with Moscow, after several rounds of discussions in recent months.
published on March 25 at 08:27 AM, AFP
