Devastating Drone Attack on Ukraine: UNESCO Site Damaged and Casualties Reported

Tue Mar 24 2026 19:40:43 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

In a rare daytime assault, Russia unleashed over 400 drones on Ukrainian cities, resulting in significant destruction and loss of life, including damage to a UNESCO heritage site.

On Tuesday afternoon, Russia executed an unprecedented daylight attack on Ukraine, deploying more than 400 drones across western cities. Significant damage occurred at the Bernardine monastery in Lviv, a UNESCO World Heritage site, alongside multiple fatalities and injuries reported across targeted areas. With two fatalities in Ivano-Frankivsk and multiple injuries in Lviv, local officials have warned of escalating numbers as rescue efforts continue in the wake of this major assault.

Russia has launched an unusual daytime attack on Ukraine, hitting cities across the west of the country with over 400 drones on Tuesday afternoon.

Lviv regional head Maksym Kozytskyi said the Bernardine monastery, a 16th-Century Unesco site, was damaged. A video posted by Lviv authorities shows a fire burning through the roof of a residential building near the monastery.

Three other western cities, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, and Ternopil, were also targeted. The head of the Ivano-Frankivsk region, Svitlana Onyshchuk, said two people were killed. Four, including a six-year-old child, were injured. Various buildings in the city, as well as the maternity hospital, were damaged.

In Lviv, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said 13 people in his city were injured and warned that the number would increase as rescue operations progress.

The strikes came hours after a heavy overnight attack left at least five people dead. A 61-year-old woman was killed when a drone hit an electric train in Kharkiv early on Tuesday, with additional casualties reported in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Poltava.

While four years of war have left virtually no corner of Ukraine untouched, the west of the country has been hit comparatively less intensely and frequently than other areas nearer the Russian border in the east.

Yurii Ihnat, spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force, indicated that a large number of drones had entered Ukrainian airspace from the north, effectively moving in columns. He noted, The geography of the strikes during the daytime was broader than at night... It can be said this was one of the largest attacks within a 24-hour period.