Nine people have been confirmed dead and many more wounded after Russia launched a large-scale overnight assault on western Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Wednesday.
The city of Ternopil suffered the heaviest blow when several high-rise apartment blocks—some nine storeys tall—were struck during the barrage. Zelensky described the attack as “brazen,” noting that Russian forces fired more than 470 drones and 47 missiles across the country in a single night. Rescue teams are still searching through the rubble, and authorities fear more victims may be trapped.
The strikes also hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, where three districts came under a massive drone assault. More than 30 people, including children, were injured as fires tore through residential buildings and vehicles.
Ukraine’s energy ministry reported that emergency power outages were in place in several regions after infrastructure sites were damaged. In Ivano-Frankivsk, attacks targeted energy facilities, injuring three people—two of them children. Critical energy and transport infrastructure were also hit in the Lviv region.
Zelensky, who is currently in Turkey for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said the scale of destruction showed that international pressure on Russia “remains insufficient.” He called for stronger sanctions and increased support from Ukraine’s allies, saying such assistance could “change the situation.”
The Ukrainian leader also reiterated his desire to push forward with peace negotiations, although the Kremlin stated on Wednesday that no Russian representative would take part in any upcoming discussions.
The latest assault is one of the deadliest attacks on western Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
