Russia launches massive assault on Ukraine as peace efforts drag on

Russia launched one of its biggest aerial attacks of the year on Ukraine overnight as diplomatic efforts drag on to end the war which is now in its fourth year.

Ukrainian officials on Thursday said Russia had fired 574 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles into the country.

They say the assault mostly targeted western regions of Ukraine where much of the military aid provided by Kyiv’s Western allies is believed to be delivered and stored.

While the military says it air defence units had downed most of them, several struck targets in locations across the country.

This caused damage to buildings and left at least one person dead and about 22 others wounded.

In the Lviv, about 70km from the border with Poland, a person was killed and 26 residential buildings were damaged.

Warsaw said it scrambled its aircraft to protect its airspace as the assault took place.

A strike on the town of Mukachevo, near Hungary and Slovakia, saw the storage facilities of a US electronics manufacturer destroyed.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defence says it destroyed 49 Ukrainian drones at various locations, without saying if there was any casualties or damage.

The latest exchange of fire follows a renewed diplomatic push to end the war led by United States President Donald Trump.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned Russia’s massive attack saying Moscow is showing no signs of pursuing meaningful negotiations to end the war.