Mass Russian drone attack on western Ukraine underway, explosions reported in Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi oblasts

Russia has launched a mass daytime drone attack on Ukraine's western oblasts, with explosions reported in several regions, local authorities and media said on April 1.

Telegram channels monitoring Ukraine's airspace reported that over 80 drones were in the country's airspace at 1:43 p.m. local time.

Air raid alerts were issued in much of Ukraine, with large numbers of drones heading toward western parts of the country, including Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, and Zakarpattia oblasts.

Explosions were reported in Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi oblasts.

Svitlana Onyshchyk, the Ivano-Frankivsk Governor, reported that at 12:22 p.m. local time, air defense was active in the Kolomyisky district.

Suspilne journalist on the ground reported hearing explosions in the cities of Burshtyn and Sniatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.

Power outages were also reported in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast at 1:13 p.m. Suspilne said that power was restored 15 minutes later.

In Chernivtsi Oblast, Andrii Dranchuk, the Mayor of the city of Khotyn, reported that air defense was active.

Hours earlier, overnight on April 1, Russia attacked western Ukraine's cities of Khmelnyskyi and Lutsk, damaging residential buildings and commercial sites, including a Nova Post terminal, authorities and media reported.

read also

Exclusive: Inside Russia’s shadow fleet

The vessels are old, their hulls streaked with rust, and their ownership obscured behind layers of shell companies. Yet the tankers that make up Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, the armada used to move sanctioned oil across the globe, are kept running with modern Western technology including Starlink, an investigation by the Kyiv Independent can reveal. To gain an insight into how the shadow fleet operates, the Kyiv Independent spoke to two Ukrainian sailors who claim they unwittingly became p

The Kyiv IndependentTanya Kozyreva