Fire in Omsk, Russia following Ukrainian drone strikes, October 24, 2026
EA on Pakistan TV: Ukraine — Taking Apart the Kremlin’s Propaganda on Its Invasion
Saturday’s Coverage: Zelensky — Talks With Russia In November
UPDATE 0707 GMT:
Ukraine air defenses downed 119 of 153 drones launched by Russia overnight, including 64 of 92 jet-powered UAVs.
UPDATE 0637 GMT:
Four civilians were murdered and 14 wounded by a Russian drone strike on a residential building in the Dnipropetrovsk region in southeast Ukraine on Saturday.
The drone set a fire on the fourth floor of an apartment building in Synelnykove and damaged nearby vehicles and a store.
Four of the wounded are in serious condition and undergoing surgery.
UPDATE 0731 GMT:
BBC Russian and the Russian independent media outlet Mediazona have confirmed the identities of 282,993 Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine.
The names of 6,880 Russian soldiers have been added to the list since early October.
The journalists said actual figures are likely significantly higher. Their total is based on publicly available information, including obituaries, social media posts by relatives, regional news reports, and statements from local authorities.
Among the confirmed deaths are 7,920 officers.
UPDATE 0714 GMT:
SpaceX’s Elon Musk has responded bitterly to the news that his Starshield service, the military version of Starlink, has been restored in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry confirmed on Saturday that Starshield was again operating at 400 km/h, 10 days after it was limited to 100 km/h. The restriction affected Ukrainian frontline operations and air defenses.
Musk posted on social media that Ukraine’s “military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week.”
He provided no evidence for the claim that Ukraine had used Starshield against non-military targets.
Ukrainian activist and former Defense Ministry adviser Serhii Sternenko responded:
As someone who was inside the process at the Ministry of Defense, I can say with certainty that this is not true. In February of this year, whitelists were introduced. Stationary terminals could be registered by both military personnel and civilians.
But for any satellite terminal to work while on the move, it had to be added to a special list and connected to the military Starshield system. Otherwise, no satellite communication terminals in Ukraine would work.
Presidential advisor Serhii Beskrestnov said all Starlink terminals operating in Ukraine have a speed restriction of 70 to 90 km/h and do not work on Russian territory.
“We physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep strikes and medium-range strikes,” he posted. “It is very strange that Elon Musk is not aware of Starlink restrictions in Ukraine.”
The most important thing today is that Starlink and Starshield operations have been restored to the speeds we had before the restrictions. The speeds are now where they need to be. The restoration began overnight, and by this morning, speeds were already sufficient. This matters: for our frontline logistics, for defending Ukraine against jet-powered “shaheds.”
I thank all Americans and all our partners who took this seriously and truly helped – members of Congress, senators, all the media, the State Department, and the President. Protecting lives matters.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 24, 2026
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine struck several sites, including a petrochemical plant and a warehouse in Siberia, around 2,500 km (1553 miles) inside Russia on Saturday.
The Omsky Kauchuk plant in the city Omsk was set afire.
The facility is one of Russia’s largest petrochemical plants. It is a leading producer of synthetic rubber, organic synthesis products, and methyl tert-butyl ether, an additive used to refine gasoline.
The plant is also part of Russia’s supply chain for rocket fuel, including for the Iskander ballistic missile.
A warehouse of Russia’s second-largest online retailer Ozon was also struck in the city. Omsk Governor Vitaliy Khotsenko confirmed, “A logistics hub in Omsk was attacked by a drone. Personnel were promptly evacuated. Emergency services are working at the scene.”
A resident said, “They’re pounding us hard. My daughter and I were walking down the street and heard three explosions, like air defense systems. But there are many more. And while we were riding on a minibus, we saw a flash in the sky.”
Mobile internet service was shut down in the city, and airport operations were limited.
Early Saturday, Ukrainian forces struck the Tolyattikauchuk petrochemical plant in the city of Tolyatti in the Samara region and an aircraft at the Yeysk airfield in Krasnodar Krai in southwest Russia.
Early Sunday morning, Ukrainian drones attacked the Belgorod region in western Russia, concentrating on an area in Belgorod city.
Eyewitnesses said the MegaGRINN shopping complex, Belgorod’s largest retail and entertainment center, was hit.
The complex, covering more than 163,000 square meters, has more than 200 stores, a supermarket, cinema, and restaurants. The facility was closed during the overnight attack.
Local officials said one civilian was killed and 14 injured.
