Ukraine braces for new offensive amid Russian drone blitz

Russia carried out a major wave of drone strikes across Ukraine on March 24, 2026, as troop and equipment movements toward the front suggested the start of a fresh offensive push.

Ukraine reported deaths in multiple regions, while officials renewed appeals to partners for additional air-defense supplies amid concerns about future missile availability.

Scale of the attacks and reported casualties

Within a 24-hour period, Russia launched 948 drones at Ukraine, described as among the largest aerial assaults of the war.

Authorities said three people were killed in western Ukraine during the daytime strikes: two in Ivano-Frankivsk and one in Vinnytsia.

Overnight strikes across 11 regions

The daytime barrage followed overnight attacks spanning 11 regions, which Ukraine said killed five people.

Those deaths included two in Poltava and one each in Zaporizhia, Kherson, and Kharkiv, according to the reported regional breakdown.

Damage reported in Lviv near UNESCO-listed site

In Lviv, a drone hit a building close to the 17th-century St Andrew’s Church, damaging part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko condemned a daytime strike that she said hit a crowded city center.

Front-line pressure and the offensive signal

The air campaign coincided with reported Russian movements of personnel and heavy equipment toward eastern Ukraine, indicating preparations for expanded ground operations.

The Institute for the Study of War said Russia shifted substantial forces and materiel to the east, while Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, General Oleksandr Syrskii, said fighting was intense along the contact line.

Air-defense requests and talks with the US

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again urged allied governments to provide air-defense munitions, warning of a possible shortfall in Kyiv’s missile stocks.

He also said discussions with the United States on security guarantees were continuing but had not produced a final agreement.