Russia carried out an unprecedented drone offensive against Ukraine, firing 948 unmanned aircraft over a single 24‑hour period, Ukrainian authorities said.
The country's Air Force reported 556 drones were launched from 09:00 local time in a rare daytime wave of strikes that struck cities across Ukraine.
Officials said many machines were intercepted, but several made direct hits that caused deaths and injuries.
In western Ukraine, Lviv suffered damage to its 16th‑century Bernardine monastery, part of a UNESCO World Heritage ensemble, and video from the city showed a residential roof ablaze.
Regional officials reported 32 people hurt in the attack there.
Ivano‑Frankivsk region saw strikes on multiple targets, including a maternity hospital.
Local authorities said two people were killed and four were wounded, one of them a six‑year‑old child.
Ternopil also reported multiple hits but no casualties.
In central Ukraine, Vinnytsia authorities said one person was killed and 13 were wounded.
Overnight attacks across 11 regions earlier in the day killed five more people, Kyiv said, adding that 392 drones and 34 missiles had been used during that night phase.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said many of the drones came in from the north and advanced in formations, and that the daytime barrage covered a broader area than previous strikes.
He described the operation as one of the largest single‑day attacks since the 2022 invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the scale of the assault underlined Moscow’s lack of intent to seek peace.
Russia’s military has not issued a public response to the strikes.
The fighting has reached parts of western Ukraine that were previously less frequently targeted.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Kursk regional governor reported one person killed and 13 injured in a separate drone attack on an agricultural site inside Russia.
Talks aimed at a negotiated settlement, which were being facilitated by the United States, have been stalled since late February amid rising regional tensions.
Ukraine’s first lady appealed for sustained attention to the country’s suffering, warning that lives lost should not be reduced to headlines.
