(MENAFN) At least 16 people were killed and dozens injured after a Russian drone and missile barrage struck the western city of Ternopil, hitting two residential buildings, Ukrainian officials said.

Police reported that 14 children were among the 64 wounded, marking one of the deadliest attacks on western Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

Additional strikes hit the western regions of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, while drone attacks targeted three districts in the northern city of Kharkiv, injuring more than 30 people. Images shared online showed burning buildings and vehicles. Ukraine’s energy ministry reported power outages in multiple regions.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched more than 470 drones and 47 missiles, causing “significant destruction”, and warned that people might be trapped under rubble in Ternopil. Video he released showed one of the two apartment blocks entirely collapsed. Interior minister Ihor Klymenko said the building had been destroyed from the third to the ninth floor.

Smoke poured from shattered windows and fires burned outside the structure. A large plume of smoke rose behind the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help as sirens sounded across the city.

Energy, transport and civilian infrastructure in western Ukraine also suffered damage. In Ivano-Frankivsk region, the energy sector was targeted and two of the three reported injured were children. The Lviv regional governor said an energy facility had been hit.

The strikes came a day after Ukraine’s military said it had used US-supplied long-range Atacms missiles against military targets inside Russia for the first time. Russia’s defence ministry claimed Ukraine fired four of the missiles at Voronezh but said all were intercepted.

Meanwhile, Zelensky is travelling to Ankara in an effort to support a US initiative to end the war.

He is set to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid reports that President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has been involved in discussions with Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev. The Kremlin said no Russian representative would take part in the Ankara talks. When asked about claims of a secret US-Russia peace effort, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “In this case, there is nothing new that we can inform you about.”

Reports also suggested Zelensky would meet two senior US military officials in Kyiv on Thursday. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff General Randy George would be the highest-ranking US officers to visit the capital since President Donald Trump took office.

Separately, Romania’s defence ministry said a Russian drone travelled roughly 8km through its airspace early Wednesday before crossing into Ukraine and Moldova and then returning to Romania. Romanian and German jets were scrambled, and officials said it remained unclear where the drone landed.

Poland also deployed fighter jets early Wednesday and temporarily shut two southeastern airports in response to the attacks on western Ukraine.

As the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches next February, Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on terms for ending the conflict. Earlier this month, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia’s conditions for a peace settlement remained unchanged from those set out by Vladimir Putin in 2024.

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