{"id":1792,"date":"2026-04-02T09:05:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T09:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/1792\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T09:05:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T09:05:34","slug":"at-least-four-killed-in-daytime-russian-drone-strikes-across-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/1792\/","title":{"rendered":"At least four killed in daytime Russian drone strikes across Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Russia has launched a rare daytime drone attack on Ukraine, killing at least four people in the central Cherkasy region and damaging energy infrastructure and industrial facilities in the west of the country, according to Ukrainian officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Ukraine&#8217;s air force said the attack consisted of 360 drones launched during the day on Wednesday, local time, of which 345 were shot down. About 700 drones were launched in the span of 24 hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\"><a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-04-02\/iran-war-live-updates-trump-prime-time-address-peace-deal\/106524270\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/106524270\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Iran war live updates:<\/a> For the latest news on the Middle East conflict, read our blog.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Ihor Taburets, the governor of the Cherkasy region, said the four were killed while they were outside during an air alert.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">He said the attack was still underway, and urged residents to take shelter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Officials in the western regions of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Zakarpattia also reported drone attacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The Ukrainian air force said waves of drones were heading to various regions of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Two small drones on the ground, with a person's hand attaching a rotor blade to one of them.\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/beee7771196558698336026326a7bec2.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Both Ukraine and Russia are increasingly embracing drone warfare as the war drags into its fifth year. (Reuters: Valentyn Ogirenko)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Zakarpattia governor Myroslav Biletskyi said Russian drones hit critical infrastructure facilities in the Khust and Uzhhorod districts near the border with Slovakia and Hungary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Electricity supplies were cut off to about 11,000 customers in the Ivano-Frankivsk region in the west, regional officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Loading<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The attacks come just days after <a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-03-25\/russia-fires-nearly-400-drones-ukraine-spring-offensive\/106495618\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/106495618\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Russia launched its biggest drone attack in months<\/a>, signalling the beginning of a renewed spring offensive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes were Russia&#8217;s response to a proposed ceasefire over Easter, labelling them &#8220;terrorist operations&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Other signals are needed, and a silence over Easter could be exactly the signal that tells everyone that diplomacy can be successful.&#8221;Stray Ukrainian drones enter neighbouring European skies<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">With the war in its fifth year, both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up their drone attacks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Such attacks usually take place overnight when drones are harder to intercept.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Estonia&#8217;s government on Wednesday announced stray drones from Ukraine that were intended for Russia had entered its airspace this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">A local broadcaster, ERR, reported that drone debris was later found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The violations come as Kyiv has intensified attacks on Russia&#8217;s oil export infrastructure over the past month, including massive strikes on the Primorsk and Ust-Luga ports on the Baltic Sea.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">On Wednesday, Ukraine&#8217;s military said it had struck a Russian missile components production plant in the country&#8217;s south-west.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A satellite image of a large coastal oil port on fire with large black smoke billowing.\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/9bc2bd8d4a53be93011f7b05cbcd3acb.jpeg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Satellite imagery shows a huge blaze enveloping Russia&#8217;s Baltic port of Ust-Luga after a Ukrainian attack. (Reuters\/Vantor)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone crashed in Finland, the first time the Ukraine war spilled onto Finnish soil. Last week, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania reported drones of Ukrainian origin on their territory in connection with attacks on the Russian oil terminal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Ukraine&#8217;s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday, local time, that his country was working with the Baltics and Finland to prevent future incidents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;We are immediately sharing all necessary information, and I can reassure you that we never aimed drones at these countries,&#8221; Mr Sybiha said, adding that the incursions were the result of &#8220;conscious and deliberate actions by Russia&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">With no let-up in fighting, and despite global attention having shifted towards the war between Iran and the US, Mr Zelenskyy started online talks with US negotiators on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also joined the talks with special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner \u2014 the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump \u2014 and US Senator Lindsey Graham, according to a source talking to Reuters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;We discussed how to strengthen diplomacy, what steps are possible, as well as security guarantees and engaging the Europeans. It was a positive conversation,&#8221; Mr Zelenskyy said of the talks in his evening address.<\/p>\n<p>Russia claims to take full control of eastern region<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">The attack came on Wednesday, local time, and on the same day Russia&#8217;s defence ministry said it had taken full control of Ukraine&#8217;s Luhansk region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report and a Ukrainian military spokesperson said there had been no battlefield changes in the area in the last six months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Russia has for years controlled more than 99 per cent of Luhansk, one of four Ukrainian regions Russia claimed as its own in 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Kyiv and most Western countries have rejected Russia&#8217;s claims of annexation as an illegal land grab.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">&#8220;Units of the &#8216;West&#8217; military grouping have completed the liberation of the Luhansk People&#8217;s Republic,&#8221; the Defence Ministry said in a statement, using Moscow&#8217;s preferred name for the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph___QITb\">Reuters<\/p>\n<p>Loading&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russia has launched a rare daytime drone attack on Ukraine, killing at least four people in the central&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1357,592,1358,5,25,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-1792","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-russia","8":"tag-attack","9":"tag-drone","10":"tag-kherson","11":"tag-russia","12":"tag-ukraine","13":"tag-ukraine-war"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/russia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}