Russian strikes on western Ukraine kill 25 as Zelenskyy seeks support in Turkey

Ukrainian officials say at least 25 people have been killed, including three children, after a wave of Russian drone and missile strikes hit residential areas in the western city of Ternopil. Local authorities report that two apartment buildings were heavily damaged and more than 70 residents were injured during the overnight barrage.

Ukraine’s military says air defence units intercepted most of the hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles launched across the country. The attack marked one of the largest overnight assaults in recent weeks and comes as communities with Ukrainian ties in Alberta and British Columbia continue to follow developments closely.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Turkey, where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an effort to rally additional diplomatic support against Russia’s invasion. Neighbouring NATO members Romania and Poland also scrambled fighter jets in response to the cross-border threat from the strikes.

Russian officials say their targets were energy infrastructure and military-industrial sites, describing the assault as retaliation for Ukrainian actions. Ukrainian authorities dispute those claims, noting that residential districts were among the hardest hit.