Ukraine war latest: Russia launches mass daytime drone attack on western, central Ukraine
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Key developments on April 1:
- Russia launches mass daytime drone attack on western, central Ukraine
- Zelensky pitches Easter ceasefire to US negotiators as Russia continues attacks
- Russia tells Zelensky to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Donbas 'already today'
- Russia's new fiber-optic sea drone 'Skarlupa' deployed in combat, Kremlin media claims
- Russian An-26 transport aircraft crashes over occupied Crimea, killing 29
Russia launched a mass daytime drone attack on Ukraine's western and central oblasts, killing at least four and injuring nine others, 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.
Ukraine's Air Force reported that during the day on April 1, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Ukraine was attacked by more than 360 Russian attack drones, around 250 of which were Shahed-type drones.
"Throughout the day, the vast majority of drones flew in from the southeast, heading west. Unfortunately, as a result of the Russian terrorist attack, 14 strikes were recorded, and there are casualties," the Air Force said.
Four people were killed in the Zolotoniskyi district, Cherkasy Oblast Governor Ihor Taburets reported on April 1.
"It happened in an open area during an air raid alert. Law enforcement officials are currently investigating the circumstances," Taburets said.
The Cherkasy Prosecutor's Office reported that around 1:00 p.m., a drone warhead that landed in an open area between settlements in the Zolotonosha district later detonated. The explosion killed four local residents who had gathered near the crash site.
A pre-trial investigation has been launched into the commission of a war crime.
Taburets later added that the other four civilians were injured in air attacks on the Cherkasy district. "Three of them were passengers on the bus that was damaged by debris from a Russian drone," Taburets said.
In Poltava Oblast, four people, including a child, were injured as a Russian drone crashed onto private property, Vitalii Diakivnych, head of the Poltava Oblast Military Administration, reported.
Svitlana Onyshchyk, the Ivano-Frankivsk Governor, reported that at 12:22 p.m. local time, air defense was active in the Kolomyisky district. She later added that critical infrastructure facilities were damaged.
In the Kolomyia district of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, around 11,000 customers have been temporarily left without power due to the attack, Onyshchyk said.
Suspilne journalist on the ground reported hearing explosions in the cities of Burshtyn and Sniatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.
In Chernivtsi Oblast, Andrii Dranchuk, the Mayor of the city of Khotyn, reported that air defense was active.
In Zakarpattia Oblast, critical infrastructure facilities were hit in the Khust and Uzhhorod districts, Myroslav Biletskyi, head of the Zakarpattia Oblast Military Administration, reported.
Biletskyi added that, according to preliminary information, one person was injured and on-site assistance was provided.
Explosions were reported in Lviv, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi oblasts.
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.
Zelensky pitches Easter ceasefire to US negotiators as Russia continues attacks
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian officials held a call with U.S. negotiators on April 1 to discuss Kyiv's proposal for an Easter ceasefire with Russia and broader peace efforts.
"A pause on Easter could serve as a signal to everyone that diplomacy can succeed," Zelensky said in a video address on his Telegram channel, adding that "different signals" are needed.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, NATO chief Mark Rutte, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov, and other officials attended the online talks that Zelensky described as "positive."
"We agreed that our teams will remain in close contact over the coming days to strengthen the security guarantees document between Ukraine and the United States," Zelensky said.
Kyiv has suggested a mutual pause in strikes against Russian and Ukrainian energy infrastructure during the Easter holidays. Orthodox Easter falls on April 12.
The Kremlin has already rejected the initiative and launched fresh attacks against Ukraine overnight on April 1 and later during the day, targeting energy infrastructure facilities and other civilian targets.
"Ukraine openly made this proposal to Russia. Russia is responding with 'Shaheds' and continues its terrorist operations against our energy infrastructure and broader facilities," Zelensky said.
Earlier, the president said the talks with the U.S. would also serve to assess the current state of peace efforts and the prospects for a future trilateral meeting with Russia.
The U.S.-mediated negotiations have made little tangible progress in recent months as Russia pushes territorial demands while Washington's focus shifts to the war with Iran.
Russia tells Zelensky to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Donbas 'already today'
Zelensky should decide "already today" to withdraw Ukrainian troops from the Donbas region, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on April 1, escalating Moscow's pressure during ongoing peace talks.
The demand comes a day after the Ukrainian president said Russia had given Kyiv two months to pull its forces from Donbas or face additional conditions in U.S.-mediated peace talks.
"As for the two months, that's not the point here. Zelensky must make a decision already today to withdraw Ukrainian troops beyond the administrative borders of (the Donbas)," Peskov said.
"This has been said repeatedly. And, in theory, Zelensky should have made this decision yesterday. He needs to take responsibility and make this difficult decision."
Russia has repeatedly insisted that Ukraine withdraw from Donbas — partially occupied since 2014 — as a key condition for any settlement. Moscow has demanded Kyiv relinquish territory that Russian forces failed to capture militarily.
Kyiv has rejected ceding land it currently controls and instead proposed a ceasefire along the existing front line. Ukraine still holds roughly one-quarter of Donetsk Oblast, including a strategically important fortified belt, as well as limited footholds in Luhansk Oblast.
According to information obtained by the Kyiv Independent, the U.S. side does not oppose Russia's demand for the Donbas. One official from President Donald Trump's administration said territorial decisions are "up to" Kyiv and Moscow.
Russia's new fiber-optic sea drone 'Skarlupa' deployed in combat, Kremlin media claims
Russia's first fiber-optic naval drone "Skarlupa" has been deployed for combat operations against Ukraine, Russian state-controlled news agency TASS claimed on March 31.
If confirmed, this would make it the first known use of a fiber-optic naval drone in combat operations. Fiber-optic control makes such systems resistant to electronic warfare, as the signal is transmitted through a physical cable rather than over radio frequencies.
Skarlupa is being developed by Ushkuynik, the manufacturer of Russia's fiber-optic drone KVN, described by Ukraine as one of the most wildly deployed Russian first-person view (FPV) drones on the batterfield.
The name Skarlupa translates from Russian as Eggshell, giving an insight into its intended role as a mothership platform capable of carrying multiple smaller drones.
This configuration was shown in a video published on Ushkuynik’s Telegram channel in February.
Beyond potential use on the battlefield against Ukraine, Russian officials and pro-war commentators have also suggested that such drones could be supplied to "friendly nations" as part of their broader confrontation with the West.
Despite the apparent innovation, experts have cautioned against reading too much into the announcement.
"There is no confirmed combat use of these systems at a scale that would allow us to speak of leadership (in the drone race)," Viktor Perfetsky, head of analytics at the Ukrainian Council of Defense Industry, told the Kyiv Independent.
"We see that they are still at the stage of trials and testing. At the same time, we know that Ukraine is also developing and testing such solutions. Therefore, it is premature to say that Russia is already ahead in this area."
Russian An-26 transport aircraft crashes over occupied Crimea, killing 29
A Russian An-26 transport aircraft crashed in occupied Crimea late on March 31, killing 29 military personnel on board, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
The ministry claimed on April 1 that six crew members and 23 passengers aboard the An-26 aircraft were confirmed dead.
"A search and rescue team has located the crash site of the An-26 aircraft," the Russian Defense Ministry said. "The preliminary cause of the crash is a technical malfunction."
A criminal case was opened into the crash of the aircraft due to alleged violations of Article 351 of the Russian Criminal Code which pertains to violations of flight rules or regulations governing flight preparation, according to a report from the Russian Investigative Committee press office.
Search efforts have been ongoing in the mountainous area where the crash reportedly occurred, involving military investigators, rescue workers, police officers, and forensic experts, Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti Crimea reported on April 1.
Russian state media TASS, citing its sources, said on April 1 that the aircraft crashed into a cliff.
RIA Novosti, citing the Russian Defense Ministry, first reported that the fate of the aircraft and crew was unknown, with a search and rescue team dispatched. The Defense Ministry further claimed that "there was no evidence of external damage to the aircraft" amid the loss of contact.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that the aircraft lost contact with radar around 6 p.m. local time.
The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify the reports nor claims made by Russian officials. The exact location of the crash was not immediately clear.
Ukraine's military has not commented on the reported crash.
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