The Daily Populous Thursday March 26th, 2026 day edition
Authored by united24media.com and submitted by Yournewbestfriend_01

Russia launched 982 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at Ukraine in less than 24 hours. Never before have attacks been so massive, nor has the entire country come under fire simultaneously—from Kharkiv to Lviv.

On the night of March 23–24, the Russian army directed 426 aerial strike weapons at Ukraine. The list included nearly three dozen cruise missiles and close to 400 Shahed-type drones. Ukrainian forces successfully shot down most, but the attack lasted almost the entire night.

By the morning of March 24, air raid alerts once again sounded across all of Ukraine. While such alerts have become routine and many Ukrainians have grown accustomed to them, this one lasted for a long time. It became clear that Russia was preparing a new wave of attacks.

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For the second time in less than a day, Russia launched a combined drone and missile strike—this time totaling 556 aerial strike assets, including large numbers of Shahed drones. While the nighttime attack primarily targeted Kyiv and central Ukraine, the daytime strikes shifted westward. Cities including Lviv, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, and Ivano-Frankivsk came under fire. Several people were killed, and dozens were injured.

Сenter of Lviv, a UNESCO heritage site and residential buildings were damaged as a result of the Russian attack (Photo by Mykola Tys via Getty Images)

In total, in one day, Russia carried out the largest strike on Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war—launching 982 aerial weapons, including drones and missiles, the majority of them Shaheds, striking targets across a span comparable to the distance from Vienna to Paris. No other country in modern history has faced attacks of this magnitude.

Map of Russian missile and drone strikes (Illustration: UNITED24 Media)

It is therefore unsurprising that countries in the Middle East are turning to Ukraine’s experience in countering drone attacks. More than 900 Shahed drones were intercepted—without relying on costly missiles for Patriot systems or other high-end weapons. These interceptions are the result of a layered, multi-tiered air defense system Ukraine has been developing for years, including the use of modern interceptor drones.

Such an attack sets a precedent. Less than a year ago, it was reported that Russia was launching over 900 Shahed drones for three days—995 strikes in total. Today, that scale has become a reality. By deploying such volumes of weaponry, Moscow seeks to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defense systems, with civilian targets as the primary objective. Strikes hit residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

Russia is also, without doubt, sharing this experience with Iran, which continues to destabilize the Middle East through persistent drone attacks. Moreover, there is evidence that Russia may be supplying its own drones to Iran.

Attacks of this scale pose a serious challenge to existing air defense systems, which were originally designed to counter missiles and aircraft—not thousands of drones flying simultaneously across an entire country from multiple directions. Ukraine has adapted by building a defense system that is both effective and relatively cost-efficient—and is ready to share this experience with the world.

DarkLeoDude on March 26th, 2026 at 06:49 UTC »

Ukraine has found a winning strategy with its rolling drone barrages, and for the first time in a long time has taken back more territory than it has lost. With the world distracted, Russia is trying to reverse that trend, thus this sudden flurry of activity.

What didn't make the headlines here is the resurgence of Russian armoured attacks that, once again, have ended in utter failure.

Paatos on March 26th, 2026 at 06:22 UTC »

Hitting an oil port causes a hissy fit in the Kremlin.

LexingtonLuthor_ on March 26th, 2026 at 06:14 UTC »

Apparently 931 out of the 982 strikes were neutralised. That's an excellent defence they've put together.