In a devastating overnight assault, Russia launched a massive drone and missile barrage across Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of 10 individuals and injuring dozens more. The attack targeted two nine-story apartment buildings in Ternopil, a city in western Ukraine, leaving emergency crews to search for survivors amidst the rubble. Ukrainian officials reported at least 37 injuries, including 12 children. According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia deployed 476 strike and decoy drones alongside 48 missiles of various types in the assault. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, stating on Telegram that such brazen acts highlight the insufficient international pressure on Russia to cease its aggression. Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a bid to strengthen diplomatic efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and increase global pressure to end the conflict. The Ukrainian leader emphasized the importance of achieving a ‘just peace’ and hinted at potential support from the United States, which is set to impose new sanctions on Russia’s oil industry. Meanwhile, the strikes extended beyond Ternopil, with nearly 50 injuries reported in three other Ukrainian regions. NATO member Romania scrambled fighter jets after a drone entered its airspace during the attacks, while Poland temporarily closed two airports to prioritize military aviation. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, drone strikes injured 46 people, including two girls, and damaged civilian infrastructure. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have intercepted four U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine, with debris damaging an orphanage and a gerontology center, though no casualties were reported.
Russian barrage kills 10 in Ukraine as Zelenskyy heads for talks with Turkish leader
