Khust, Bukovel, Radekhiv – western Ukraine has come under a massive attack by Russian drones

On the afternoon of 1 April, Russian forces are carrying out a massive drone attack on western regions of Ukraine. An increased threat has been reported, in particular, in the Lviv and Zakarpattia regions. Local authorities and residents have been urged not to ignore the air raid alert and to take shelter.

According to the Air Force, as of 14:00, groups of drones were moving from the Beryslav district past the Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions to the west, from the Cherkasy region to the Vinnytsia region, from the south of the Vinnytsia region further west, from the north of Poltava region to Cherkasy, from the Konotop district of Sumy region to Chernihiv, from the north of Chernihiv region on a south-westerly course, and also via Khmelnytskyi towards Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. A separate report mentioned a drone north of Khust, which was moving westwards.

Lviv region

In Lviv Oblast, warnings were issued about a large number of drones moving towards the region. Residents were urged to move to safe places.

Explosions were also reported in the Lviv region. Separately, there were reports of partial power cuts. It was clarified that parts of Lviv were left without power, specifically the Levandivka and Riasne neighbourhoods.

Zakarpattia Oblast

In Zakarpattia Oblast, an elevated threat level was declared and residents were urged to remain in shelters. Residents were also advised, where possible, to tune in to FM radio on frequencies 101.6, 101.9 and 107.2 MHz and to follow further instructions from the regional military administration.

Explosions were also heard in the region. There were reports of a drone strike near a power substation in the Khust district. Later, information emerged of strikes on power substations in the villages of Lypcha and Maidan. Power supply was cut off in the area near Mizhhiria.

Ivano-Frankivsk region

In Ivano-Frankivsk region, explosions were heard in Sniatyn and Burshtyn during the air raid alert. Following the explosion in Sniatyn, power was cut off on some streets.

The head of the regional military administration warned of the threat of attack drones to the Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia districts, and the threat subsequently spread to other districts of the region.

Local Telegram channels and public groups also reported explosions in Bukovel and Kolomyia. However, there was no official confirmation of the explosions in Bukovel at the time of publication. The mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ruslan Martsinkiv, urged residents to heed air raid alerts and to be cautious.

Chernivtsi region

In the Chernivtsi region, reports emerged of a massive drone attack on western Ukraine and the activation of air defence systems. Explosions were heard in the Dnister district. The head of the regional military administration, Ruslan Osypenko, confirmed the detection of a second enemy target over Bukovina and urged residents of Novodnistrovsk to remain in shelters.

There were also reports of explosions in Bukovina during the attack.

Ternopil region

In the Ternopil region, it was reported that a drone had struck one of the enterprises in the Zalishchyky community. The attack caused a fire.

All relevant services were on site, and the fire was brought under control. According to available information, there were no casualties or injuries.

Khmelnytskyi region

The Khmelnytskyi region was also under an air raid alert. It was reported that groups of drones were moving past the region towards the Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

Vinnytsia region

Explosions were reported in the Vinnytsia region. According to the Air Force, drones were moving from the Cherkasy region to the Vinnytsia region, and were also in the south of the Vinnytsia region heading west.

In total, dozens of drones were detected during the attack, spread across almost all regions of western Ukraine. It was also reported that Russia was constantly launching new groups of drones, so the attack was likely ongoing.