Explosions rock western Ukrainian cities as Russia launches large-scale drone attack
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russia launched a wave of drone attacks on Ukrainian cities overnight on Sept. 2-3, targeting regions in Ukraine's far-west, officials reported.
Explosions were heard in the western cities of Kalush, Khmelnytskyi, and Rivne. Sounds of Ukrainian air defense fire were also reported between 2-2:30 a.m. in Lviv, according to a Kyiv Independent journalist on the ground.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, a downed drone in the town of Vyshhorod on the outskirts of Kyiv caused a fire at a residential building, Kyiv Oblast Governor Mykola Kalashnyk reported. No casualties were reported in the attack.
No information was immediately available as to any damage or casualties stemming from Russia's attack.
Nearly all of Ukraine's regions were subject to air raid alerts throughout the night amid the incoming drones, Ukraine's Air Force reported.
The attack comes as Russia has once again intensified attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, despite Moscow demonstrating openness to pursuing peace talks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 29 that the death toll of the Aug. 28 Russian attack on Kyiv has risen to 25, following a large-scale attack that involved 598 drones and 31 missiles.
Another large-scale attack on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia on Aug. 30 killed one person and injuring 34 others, officials reported.
As frustration continues to mount with Russia's non-stop attacks on Ukrainian cities, U.S. President Donald Trump levied frustration towards progress on a peace deal on Sept. 3.
"I'm very disappointed in President Putin, I can say that, and we'll be doing something to help people live," Trump said in an interview on the Scott Jennings Radio Show.
Despite Trump's comments, the U.S. president has continued to refuse to implement additional secondary sanctions on Russia's war machine. Trump's self-imposed two-week deadline to impose additional economic pressure on Russia that he announced on Aug. 21 passed on Sept. 2 without new measures being implemented.
