A high-rise apartment block in Kyiv damaged by a Russian drone strike, November 2, 2024 (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

Saturday’s Coverage: North Korea Gives Full Support To Russia’s Invasion

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1050 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has given updated numbers for Russia’s attacks.

Zelensky said the assaults would be “impossible” if partners provided Ukraine with sufficient long-range striking capabilities, imposed “truly effective sanctions” against Russia, and made political decisions “that can destroy Russia’s will to fight”.

“Ukraine deserves the same reliable security as all our other partners in the free world,” he concluded.

Three civilians were killed and 24 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Two people were slain in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine and one was killed in the Kherson region in the south.

The Russians launched 96 attack drones and a Kh-59/69 guided air missile. The missile and 66 drones were downed by air defenses, 27 drones were lost to electronic counter-measures, and one flew to Belarus.

UPDATE 0749 GMT:

For the second consecutive night, Russian forces have attacked Kyiv with more than five hours of drone strikes.

Air defense downed all the drones, but debris struck districts such as Holosiivskyi and Desnianskyi, causing multiple fires. No casualties or significant damage have been reported.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Citing more than 2,000 Russian drone attacks in October, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for tougher international sanctions on Moscow.

In his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskiy noted that the drones required “more than 170,000 individual companents that should have been blocked from reaching Russia”. Many had been supplied by China, which has assisted Moscow’s 32-month invasion, but others are made by companies in Europe and America — “lots of small but constant contributions to Russia’s terror”.

Sanctions must increase and be effective. Every scheme to bypass sanctions is a crime against people and the world. These very schemes also enable Russia to strengthen regimes in Iran and North Korea. This is a global threat, and only global, unified pressure can overcome it.

Ukraine Commander: We Are Holding Back “One of Most Powerful” Russian Offensives

Ukraine’s military commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi says defenders are “holding back one of the most powerful Russian offensives from launching a full-scale invasion”.

Russia’s 13-month offensive in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine has accelerated its gradual advance this autumn. The invaders have seized two towns, Vuhledar and Selydove, and a series of villages.

Syrskyi said he told the Chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Brown, of the “difficult” situation on the frontline and the Ukrainian military’s “urgent needs”. He claimed that Brown assured him of continued US support, as the Biden Administration announced another $425 million in military aid to Ukraine.