Russia's Largest Daytime Mass Attack on Ukraine
Russia launched one of its most extensive daytime aerial assaults on Ukraine on Friday, deploying hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles that swept across more than a dozen regions, killing at least three people and injuring at least 32 others, while triggering widespread power outages across the country.
Ukraine's Air Force said Russia had launched more than 400 long-range drones in the past 24 hours, as well as ten ballistic missiles that primarily targeted areas near the front line.
The full barrage, which began on the evening of April 2 and continued into the day of April 3, included Shahed-type kamikaze drones, Kh-101 cruise missiles, and Iskander-M ballistic missiles deployed from strategic Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers.
The barrage prompted emergency power outages in several regions, according to energy operator Ukrenergo.
As of Friday morning, power outages had affected users in six regions due to the combined effect of drone attacks and artillery shelling.
The bombardment marked the second time this week Russia followed an overnight drone barrage with heavy daytime attacks, a new tactic as Moscow probes ways to penetrate Ukraine's air defenses.
"We can see that the enemy is using new routes, new drones which they are constantly modernising, and new tactics," Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on state television.
Analysts say the shift is deliberate.
Viktor Kevliuk, a reserve colonel and analyst at the Center for Defense Strategies, has described the extended attacks as designed to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses throughout the day, making subsequent strikes more effective, and serving as a psychological tool to instill a sense of constant danger among civilians.
Near Kyiv, one person was killed and eight others were injured in the strikes, according to the regional military administration.
Residential buildings, high rise apartment blocks, vehicles, and administrative facilities were damaged across several districts.
In the eastern Kharkiv region, one person was killed and 25 others were injured by missile, bomb, and drone attacks over the past 24 hours, with four ballistic missiles striking the regional capital overnight, Governor Oleh Synehubov reported.
In the Sumy region, Russian forces struck the Shostka community, killing one person and injuring three others.
A separate drone strike hit a shopping center in the city of Sumy, injuring at least two people. In Kherson, Russian forces attacked a minibus with a drone, injuring five people.
The attack came as Ukraine continued to press for a temporary holiday ceasefire for Easter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had signaled Kyiv's openness to a ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter holiday, which falls on April 12.
Zelenskyy told reporters that the proposal had been communicated to Moscow through U.S. channels, but the Kremlin's response remained unclear.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously stated that Moscow prefers a lasting peace settlement over a temporary truce.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha did not mince words in response to the continued bombardment.
"Terrorist Russia strikes in broad daylight deliberately to maximise civilian casualties and damage," Sybiha said.
"This is how Moscow responds to Ukraine's Easter ceasefire proposals, with brutal attacks," he added.
Ukraine accuses Russia of deliberately prolonging the war to capture more Ukrainian territory and says Moscow is not genuinely interested in peace.
Talks between the two countries, mediated by the United States, have been stalled by the conflict in the Middle East.
Friday's assault fits into a broader Russian escalation this spring. Russia fired more than 1,000 drones in the space of 36 hours the week prior, in a campaign that left at least two people dead at a maternity hospital in Ivano-Frankivsk and wounded dozens more across the country, with CNN describing it as "one of the largest attacks over the course of the day".
With the war now in its fifth year, both Russia and Ukraine have significantly stepped up drone operations.
Such attacks had typically taken place overnight, when drones are harder to intercept, making Russia's new emphasis on daytime strikes a particularly alarming development.
Ukraine's air defenses intercepted the vast majority of the incoming projectiles on Friday, but analysts warn that the sheer volume and frequency of Russian launches is placing unsustainable pressure on the country's defense systems and on its people.
Sources: Reuters, Euronews, The Associated Press, Ukrinform, Kyiv Independent
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