Russia Launches Record 948 Drones Against Ukraine in Massive 24-Hour Aerial Assault

Russia launched a record-breaking drone attack on Ukraine on March 24, 2026, deploying 948 (drones) — record number of drones in a single 24-hour period unmanned aerial vehicles within a 24-hour period, the Ukrainian Air Force announced. The attack struck multiple regions across the country, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more. Lviv, located approximately 70 kilometers from the Polish border, suffered significant damage in its historic city center, while Ivano-Frankivsk and the Vinnytsia region also reported casualties. The scale of the assault prompted Poland to scramble fighter jets and helicopters in response to drone activity near its border with Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force identified the weapons used as Shahed, Gerber, and other types of combat drones. During the daytime phase alone, Russia launched 556 drones, of which 541 had been shot down by 19:00 local Ukrainian time.

UNESCO church tower damaged in Lviv city center strike In Lviv, a Russian drone struck a historic tenement building on Soborna Square, damaging the tower of the 17th-century Church of St. Andrew, a site listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The strike also fell within meters of the Bernardine Monastery, which houses the Historical Archive of the City of Lviv — described by Polish Consul General Marek Radziwon as one of the three most important repositories of Polish archival heritage in the city. Radziwon confirmed that archive staff were safe, sheltering in a protected facility, and noted that the Polonika Institute was conducting renovation works just a few dozen meters from the impact site. Mayor Andriy Sadovyi reported that drones struck objects in three districts of Lviv, including a residential building in the city center and an apartment block in the Sykhiv district. The total number of injured in Lviv reached 13, including one person in serious condition, according to Sadovyi. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko condemned the strike on the social media platform X, writing that Russia had attacked a crowded city center in broad daylight. „Russia is attacking a crowded city center in broad daylight. Just a few minutes ago, Russian-Iranian drones struck Lviv” — Yulia Svyrydenko via Do Rzeczy

Maternity hospital hit in Ivano-Frankivsk, two births in shelter In Ivano-Frankivsk, the attack killed two people and injured four, including a six-year-old child, according to regional Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk. The blast wave from a strike aimed at an administrative building damaged the regional maternity hospital and approximately ten residential buildings, Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv said. Martsinkiv noted that two women gave birth inside a shelter during the air raid alert. In the Vinnytsia region, one person was killed and 11 were injured, according to Nataliia Zabolotna, head of the regional military administration. The daytime raid covered a wider geographic area than the preceding overnight attack, with drones arriving from the north via the Chernihiv and Sumy regions and also striking the Poltava, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Vinnytsia regions, as well as western areas from Khmelnytskyi to Lviv.

[{"dateISO": "2026-03-24", "date": "March 24, night", "title": "Overnight attack", "description": "Russia launched 392 drones and 34 missiles overnight from Monday to Tuesday, killing at least five people across Kharkiv, Poltava, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions."}, {"dateISO": "2026-03-24", "date": "March 24, daytime", "title": "Record daytime drone wave", "description": "Russia launched 556 drones during the day, striking Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, and other regions. 541 of 556 daytime drones shot down by 19:00 local time."}, {"dateISO": "2026-03-24", "date": "March 24, afternoon", "title": "Poland scrambles aviation", "description": "Poland's Operational Command activated fighter jets, a helicopter, and ground-based air defense systems due to Shahed drone activity near the Polish-Ukrainian border."}, {"dateISO": "2026-03-24", "date": "March 24, by 19:00", "title": "24-hour total confirmed", "description": "Ukrainian Air Force confirmed 948 drones used in total over the preceding 24 hours — a record figure for a single day of attacks."}]

Poland scrambles jets as drones approach its border Poland's Operational Command of the Armed Forces announced on Tuesday afternoon that it had activated fighter jets, a helicopter, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems in response to the presence of Russian Shahed drones in western Ukraine. The command described the measures as preventive, aimed at securing Polish airspace in areas adjacent to threatened zones. Operations concluded around 18:30 Polish time, according to reporting by RMF24. Consul General Radziwon highlighted that the attack was unusual in its timing, occurring during daylight hours rather than overnight. „It did not take place at night, which we have already become accustomed to, but during the day” — Marek Radziwon via Super Express The overnight attack preceding the daytime assault had already used 34 missiles and 392 drones, killing at least five people across the Kharkiv, Poltava, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, according to local authorities cited by Fakt24. The combined 24-hour total of 948 drones represents the largest single-day drone deployment recorded in the conflict, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

Russia has conducted large-scale drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities throughout the war that began in February 2022, with western Ukrainian cities including Lviv increasingly targeted as the conflict has continued. Lviv's historic city center, including the Church of St. Andrew and the Bernardine Monastery complex, has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Historical Archive of the City of Lviv holds manuscript and book collections of particular significance to Polish cultural heritage, reflecting the city's history as a major center of Polish cultural life before World War II. Poland has repeatedly activated its air defense systems and scrambled aircraft in response to Russian drone activity near the Ukrainian border throughout the course of the war.