The command of the Ukrainian Air Force in Kyiv said it was able to intercept five of the incoming missiles on Thursday. Accordingly, the Russian cruise missiles of the type Kalibr were fired from the Black Sea. Because of the attacks, there was an air alert in large parts of Ukraine at times.
Three of the rockets were aimed at a military facility in the Zolochiv district in western Ukraine, according to the Lviv regional administration. Two rockets hit and caused property damage. A rocket had been shot down, said Governor Maksym Kosytskyi. Information on the attacked military object was not given.
Attack right after prisoner exchange
Previously, Ukraine and Russia had announced the exchange of 20 prisoners each. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, spoke of “moments of joy” in the online service Telegram. On the Ukrainian side, 14 soldiers, four members of the national defense, one member of the national guard and one member of the navy were released. Yermak explained that those who had been released would be medically examined.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that 20 Russian soldiers had returned from Ukrainian territory. They all received the “necessary psychological and medical help”. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian presidency said it had secured the release of 32 Ukrainian soldiers as part of an exchange with Russia.
London: Russia attempts to consolidate front line
After its retreat in the Cherson region at the beginning of October, Russia was trying to consolidate the new front line in Ukraine, according to British information. Meanwhile, the Russian occupation administration from Kherson has asked for help in evacuating civilians. Russian rocket and drone attacks in the night again resulted in damage and fatalities.
According to Russian information, an ammunition depot exploded during Ukrainian air raids on a village in the Russian region of Belgorod on the border with Ukraine. According to initial findings, there were no casualties or injuries, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Thursday in the online service Telegram. Russian authorities earlier on Thursday accused Ukraine of bombing an apartment building in the city of Belgorod. Gladkow wrote on Telegram that there were no victims. The damage to the building is not serious. Gladkov also accused Kyiv of shelling the Russian village of Krasnoye on the border with Ukraine. “There is destruction on the school grounds,” he said.
Most Russian units are said to be undermanned
The British Ministry of Defense said in its daily situation report that the front west of the village of Mylowe in the Cherson region was still heavily fought after the Russian troops had withdrawn by around 20 kilometers in early October. The Ukrainian advance meant that the Russians no longer benefited from the protection of the Inhulez River. Most Russian units are also understaffed. The British situation report also shows that the Russian occupation authorities in the southern Ukrainian city of Cherson would probably expect the fighting to spread to the urban area.
The administration deployed by Russia in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson announced on Thursday that civilians would be evacuated and asked Moscow for help. “We have proposed that all residents of the Kherson region who want to escape from (Ukrainian) attacks can go to other (Russian) regions,” Vladimir Saldo, head of administration, told Telegram on Thursday. “Take your children with you and go,” he called on the residents.
After the Russian attacks on energy plants in Ukraine in the past few days, the power supply in the country has been largely restored, according to official information. However, some repair work on the damaged infrastructure would continue, says the head of the Ukrainian network operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, on state television. However, he continues to call on the Ukrainians to save energy, as further Russian attacks on energy plants are possible.
Meanwhile, new Russian airstrikes hit critical infrastructure facilities in the region of the capital Kyiv on Thursday morning. The deputy head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on the Telegram messaging service that it was again an attack with Iranian kamikaze drones. Four of these Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones were shot down over the Odessa region during the night – two more near Mikolaiv, the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reported Thursday morning.
According to this, 17 Iranian kamikaze drones and two Russian ZALA Lancet drones have already been destroyed in the last 24 hours. Ukraine has reported a spate of Russian attacks using Shahed-136 drones, also known as kamikaze drones, in recent weeks. Iran denies supplying the drones to Russia. The leadership in Moscow does not comment on this.
The city of Mykolayiv, located in the south near the Black Sea, was hit by heavy rocket fire during the night. “A five-story apartment building was hit, the top two floors were completely destroyed, the rest is in ruins. Rescue workers are working on site,” Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said on social media. A 31-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman were killed. Their bodies were recovered from the rubble around noon. In Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, a fire broke out in a shop early in the morning as a result of Russian shelling – there were no injuries.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff on Thursday morning, 40 Ukrainian settlements and cities have been hit by Russian rockets in the past 24 hours. The Ukrainian air force in turn carried out 32 strikes against 25 Russian targets. In the Russian city of Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border, parts of the rocket smashed into a high-rise building. “The Ukrainian armed forces shelled Belgorod,” wrote the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, on his Telegram channel on Thursday. The anti-aircraft defense had been activated. Ukraine immediately rejected the accusation. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said the Russian army tried to bomb the nearby Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, “but something went wrong.” Pictures of the impact and the damaged house are circulating on social networks. According to the information, there were no dead or injured.
The power supply to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is to be secured in future with fuel procured by Russia. A representative of the Russian nuclear operator Rosenergoatom told the Russian news agency TASS. However, the boss of the Ukrainian power plant operator Energoatom, Petro Kotin, immediately contradicted this account and referred to recently filled fuel depots. He called the Russian claims “fake news” to the Reuters news agency.
Source: Nachrichten
