Massive Russian drone, missile attack causes fires, injuries far from front line despite peace talks
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russia launched a wave of missiles and drones targeting cities across Ukraine on Aug. 21, including regions in Ukraine's far-west located hundreds of kilometers away from the front line.
The attack comes as Moscow continues to unleash daily attacks on Ukrainian civilians, despite beginning leader-level peace talks with Washington just six days prior.
Explosions were reportedly heard in Rivne Oblast overnight on Aug. 21 as Russia launched bombers and drones, prompting an air raid alert to be issued across all of Ukraine.
Three explosions were heard in Rivne Oblast as Russian MiG-31 fighter jets capable of launching Kinzhal ballistic missiles reportedly took off.
Rivne Oblast in western Ukraine sits far from the frontlines and is located about 304 kilometers (390 miles) west of Kyiv.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine's capital, local media outlets reported that Russian Shahed drones are approaching Kyiv.
Drones were flying in the airspace over the outskirts of Kyiv, the city's military administration reported at 3:48 a.m. local time.
Air defenses were operating in Ukraine's capital amid the Russian assault, the Kyiv City Military Administration reported at 3:55 a.m.
Ukraine's Air Force reported that dozens of Russian drones are making their way towards western Ukraine, including the Lviv, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi oblasts.
A Shahed drone was spotted over the Zolochiv district in Lviv Oblast, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said.
Air defenses were operating in Lviv Oblast, Kozytskyi reported at about 4:30 a.m. local time.
Explosions were heard in the far-western Ukrainian cities of Lviv, Lutsk, and Mukachevo, media reported.
Additional explosions were heard in Lviv at about 4:49 a.m. local time, Suspilne reported.
Russia carried out a combined missile and drone attack on Lviv, causing an unknown number of injuries, Mayor Andryi Sadovyi reported.
Blast waves damaged the windows and roofs of dozens of houses, and fires have broken out throughout the city, he said.
Another group of cruise missiles is flying over Sumy Oblast and towards Poltava Oblast, with missiles currently over Poltava Oblast moving further west, Ukraine's Air Force reported at about 5:00 a.m. local time.
In Mukachevo, a commercial site was hit and emergency services responded at the scene, local authorities reported.
The Mukachevo City Council later advised residents to keep their windows closed and stay indoors due to a fire caused by a Russian missile strike.
The site hit in the attack appears to be a plant operated by Flex, which houses about 800 personnel for its night shift, an employee of the plant told the Kyiv Independent.
Most of the factory's staff evacuated to on-site modular concrete shelters when an air raid alert was issued, they said.
The plant does not produce any goods for the defense sector, and buildings at the site will likely burn down as a result of the Russian attack, the plant employee added.
Twelve people were hospitalized in Mukachevo as a result of the Russian attack, with 10 brought to the city's St. Martin's hospital by emergency services, and another two victims arriving on their own, the city council reported.
The attack comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump concluded talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House on Aug. 18 amid intensified efforts to broker a peace deal.
Following the meeting, Zelensky said Ukraine is ready for unconditional peace talks and that any discussion about Ukraine's territory would be held directly between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"(T)he question of territory is a question that we will leave between me and Putin. Security guarantees will probably be negotiated with our partners," he said.
Before Zelensky's White House meeting, Trump met Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15 as Washington intensifies efforts to broker a peace deal to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
Although no formal peace agreement was made during their three-hour meeting in Anchorage, Trump later said they had made headway and "largely agreed" on security guarantees for Ukraine and territorial swaps.
Since Trump met Putin in Anchorage on Aug. 15, at least 31 civilians have been killed and another 145 have been injured in Russian strikes across Ukraine.
