Firefighters work after a Russian drone attack on residential buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 17, 2022 (Roman Hrytsyna/AP)


Ukraine War, Day 236: Russia Attacks Kyiv with “Kamikaze Drones”


Source: CNN


UPDATE 1731 GMT:

Russian strikes have cut power to 1,162 cities, towns, and villages in Ukraine.

Government spokesperson Oleksandr Khorunzhyi said the settlements are in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovogod, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Lugansk, Mykolaiv, and Kherson regions.

Emergency services said Russian troops have launched about 190 attacks with missiles, kamikaze drones, and artillery in 16 regions including Kyiv.

Oleskii Chernyshov, the Communities and Territories Development Minister, said the Russians have hit 408 targets, including 45 energy stations and more than 180 civilian buildings, since October 10.


UPDATE 1721 GMT:

Two “senior Iranian officials” and two Iranian diplomats have confirmed to Reuters that Iran will supply Russia with surface-to-surface missiles.

The provision was agreed on October 6 during a trip to Moscow by Iran’s 1st Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, two senior Revolutionary Guards officials, and an official from the Supreme National Security Council.

“The Russians had asked for more drones and those Iranian ballistic missiles with improved accuracy, particularly the Fateh and Zolfaghar missiles family,” said one of the Iranian diplomats.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing the assessment of US intelligence agencies, that Iran is preparing a first shipment of the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar short-range ballistic missiles.


UPDATE 1321 GMT:

Ukraine has received €2 billion in European Union financial assistance, the first tranche of a €5 billion support package.

The funds will cover urgent budgetary expenses, including social and humanitarian programs.


UPDATE 1258 GMT:

Two people have been killed and another wounded in Russian missile strikes on a thermal power station in Kyiv.

The City Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into a possible “violation of the laws and customs of war”.


UPDATE 1101 GMT:

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Vladimir Putin has no plans to end his “partial mobilization” as the target of 300,000 call-ups has not been reached.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Monday that the mobilization has ended in Russia’s capital, as “the tasks…have been completed in full”.

Putin said last weekend that 222,000 men have been mobilized and he intends to end the process “within about two weeks”.


UPDATE 0926 GMT:

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says the Kremlin has “no information” on whether any Iranian-made kamikaze drones — hundreds of which were delivered to Russia this summer — have been used in attacks on Ukrainian cities this week.


UPDATE 0921 GMT:

Two people have been killed in Kyiv this morning by Russian attacks.

The death toll from yesterday’s strikes on the capital has risen to five, following the discovery of the body of an elderly woman in the rubble of a destroyed building.


UPDATE 0912 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has responded on Twitter to Russia’s latest attacks.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko has asked residents to conserve electricity after damage to “two objects of critical infrastructure” limited power and water supplies.

Do not turn on powerful electrical appliances – air conditioners, electric kettles, microwave ovens, etc. In homes where the water supply has already been temporarily stopped, residents are asked to find the nearest pump station or vending machine for drinking water, and stock up on water.


UPDATE 0705 GMT:

Mayor Vitali Klitschko reports “explosions again in Kyiv in the morning”. Three Russian strikes targeted “critical infrastructure”, reportedly an energy supply facility, in the Desnianskyi district.

Serhiy Sukhomlyn, the mayor of Zhytomyr west of Kyiv, wrote, “The morning began with arrivals across Zhytomyr. The city has no light or water at the moment. Hospitals are on back-up power.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted about the latest Russian assault across the country:

Ukraine is under fire by the occupiers. They continue to do what they do best – terrorize and kill civilians. In Mykolaiv, the enemy destroyed a residential building with S-300 missiles. A person died. There was also a strike at the flower market, the chestnut park. I wonder what the Russian terrorists were fighting against at these absolutely peaceful facilities?

The terrorist state will not change anything for itself with such actions. It will only confirm its destructive and murderous essence, for which it will certainly be held to account.


UPDATE 0646 GMT:

Russian strikes are reported on the Kharkiv region, including Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv, on Tuesday.

Authorities announced, “Attention, residents of Kharkiv and the region: the Russian occupiers are striking. Stay in shelters!”

Kryvyi Rih in south-central Ukraine was attacked about 6:30 am. Governor Oleksandr Vilkul told residents, “The anxiety continues. Repeated attacks are possible — you are in shelters during an air alert.”

Strikes on Dnipro in east-central Ukraine have hit energy infrastructure, causing “serious damage”.

The port city of Mykolaiv is under attack for the second day in a row, with three explosions early Tuesday.

Part of a large apartment building has been destroyed, with at least one dead man pulled from the rubble.


UPDATE 0636 GMT:

In one of the biggest prisoner exchanges so far during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the two sides freed 218 women on Monday.

Ukraine Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said 37 of the Ukrainian women were captured after Russian forces overran the Azovstal steelworks in the port city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine in May.

Medic Viktoria Obidina was with her young daughter when Mariupol fell after 12 weeks of Russian attacks and siege. She told reporters, “I will go to see my daughter. I want to see her so bad.”

Ukraine’s interior ministry said some of the women had been held by the Russians since 2019 after being detained by Russian proxy authorities in the east off the country.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday night:

I thank everyone involved in this success, and I also thank all those who replenish our exchange fund, who ensure the capture of enemies.

The more Russian prisoners we have, the sooner we will be able to free our heroes.


UPDATE 0627 GMT:

The crash of a Russian military jet into a residential building has killed at least 14 people, including three children, in a resort town near the Ukraine border.

The Su-34 fighter-bomber dived shortly after takeoff from the Yushny airbase, setting afire at least five stories of the building in Yeysk, just south of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol across the Sea of Azov.

Ten Russian military jets have crashed since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. Most were strike aircraft and transport planes, including two Su-34s in the last month.


ORIGINAL ENTRY: Speaking after the latest Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, “The world can and must stop this terror.”

Monday’s Russian strikes, including those with Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones, killed four civilians in Kyiv and four in the northern Sumy region. Among the victims in the capital were a husband and his wife, who was six months pregnant.

Russia also targeted the east-central Dnipropetrovsk and southern Mykolaiv regions. Most of the drones were downed, but tanks of sunflower oil at a terminal in port of Mykolaiv city were set on fire.

Zelenskiy said, in his nightly address to the nation:

In Kyiv, they killed a young family, targeting an apartment building with an Iranian Shahed. A guy and a 6 months pregnant girl….Vladimir Putin can mark another ‘achievement’ – he killed another pregnant woman….

There were other hits. More than 25 settlements of our country were attacked this night and morning. Eternal memory to all victims of Russian terror.

The President noted that, between 9 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. Monday, Ukrainian air defense destroyed 37 Iranian drones and several cruise missiles. Of 28 drones launched against Kyiv, 23 were unsuccessful. However, he added:

To guarantee the protection of our skies and to reduce the capabilities of Russian terrorists to zero, we need significantly more modern air defense systems and a greater missile provision for such systems. And this is not only Ukrainian interest. The fewer terrorist opportunities Russia has, the sooner this war will end.

Facing defeat on the battlefield and under pressure at home, Vladimir Putin escalated the missile and drone strikes last week. On October 10, the attacks killed 19 people, including six in Kyiv, and the Russians continued to attack infrastructure throughout the week.