Russia fires nearly 1,000 drones at Ukraine in 24 hours, air force says

Russia launched nearly 1,000 drones at Ukraine over the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s air force said, after an unprecedented daytime barrage that left at least three people dead across the country.

“Taking into account the night attack … the enemy used almost 1,000 strike drones,” the air force wrote on Telegram, saying the daytime strikes covered a broader geographic area than overnight raids and reached western parts of Ukraine, hundreds of kilometres from the front lines.

Kyiv’s air force reported it shot down 541 of the 556 attack drones involved in the daytime assault.

Overall, since yesterday evening Russia deployed a record 948 drones against Ukraine, the air force added.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene in Lviv, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Telegram, sharing a photo of a building engulfed in flames.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the 17th-century St Andrew’s Church, which forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, was struck.

“Russia is attacking a crowded city centre in broad daylight. Just minutes ago, Russian-Iranian drones struck the city of Lviv,” she wrote on X.

People take shelter at a metro station during an airstrike alarm in Kyiv

In the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, a rare daytime drone attack wounded four people — including a six-year-old — and killed two, the regional head said.

“As a result of the enemy attack on the centre of Ivano-Frankivsk, two people have been killed,” Svitlana Onyshchuk said on social media, adding that roughly ten residential buildings and a maternity hospital sustained damage.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin has signed a law permitting private security companies to carry firearms to defend critically important energy facilities, the government said, widening the permitted arsenal for such protection.

The law takes immediate effect and comes after a rise in Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian oil refineries and export nodes, efforts Kyiv says aim to reduce Moscow’s revenues and its capacity to fund military operations.

Under the new rules, private firms may deploy more powerful weapons, including Kalashnikov assault rifles, to secure key sites. Moscow had earlier said in October it would consider using reservists to protect civilian infrastructure such as refineries.

Some refineries, including facilities in the republic of Bashkortostan in the Ural mountains, have installed anti-drone nets.

Ukraine, US still need to work through security guarantees – Zelensky

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv and Washington still have work to do on the security guarantees agreement Ukraine has long sought, despite his earlier statement that the document was ready.

Representatives from Kyiv and the United States discussed security guarantees over the weekend at talks in Florida.

Ukraine is seeking iron-clad pledges from the US and other allies to come to its defence should Russia renew attacks after a formal end to the war.

“The most important task is to develop security guarantees in a way that brings us closer to ending the war,” Mr Zelensky wrote on social media following a briefing with his negotiating team.

In January, Mr Zelensky had said the security guarantees document between Ukraine and the US was “100% ready” and awaiting signature.

“The geopolitical situation has become more complicated due to the war against Iran, and unfortunately, this is emboldening Russia,” he added.

Mr Zelensky also called for a summit of US, European and global leaders to seek coordinated solutions to both the war between Russia and Ukraine and the conflict in Iran.