Kyiv infrastructure and residential areas under pressure
Kyiv’s infrastructure and residential areas faced pressure after Russian ballistic missiles hit the State University of Trade and Economics campus and the Southern Bridge. On October 26, explosions at 21:45 damaged university dormitories and residential buildings in the Desnianskyi district, which killed one person and injured 15, according to the State Emergency Service. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the missiles hit the campus, Kyoto Park, the area by a metro station, and residential buildings, but he noted that no military facility was nearby. A second wave of ballistic missiles arrived at 03:00 on October 27 and hit the Southern Bridge, which damaged the metro infrastructure and left a large hole in the structure that forced commuters from the left bank to walk across on foot. The strike also hit an administrative building in the Podilskyi district and restricted the green metro line to two separate sections. Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced 1 billion hryvnias (about $22 million) for temporary river crossings after the strike closed the bridge to road and rail traffic. Klitschko discussed other technical solutions for protecting bridges and maintenance for bomb shelters during a meeting of the city’s Capital Defense Council. I find the city’s response regarding bomb shelters problematic, as Klitschko faces criticism for delays in providing adequate protection for residents. The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia sent 280 drones, 69 of them jet-powered, and Iskander-M and S-400 ballistic missiles starting at 18:00 on October 26. This wave resulted in hits at 25 locations, though the air force said it downed or suppressed 255 drones and two missiles.
Regional strikes hit agricultural and commercial targets
The strike campaign hit several other regions, including Kharkiv, where Russian missiles struck one district three times on October 26. These strikes killed two people and injured four while damaging a high-rise and private homes, and officials said the last operating Epicentr hypermarket was destroyed. An Epicentr spokesperson, Yuliya Chudnovets, called the run of strikes on stores in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsya, and Poltava the "total destruction of the network" after jet drones set sales floors and warehouses ablaze in the city on October 24. In Pavlohrad, a drone strike on October 26 killed one person and injured at least three people, including two 10-year-old girls, while damaging blocks of flats and a shop. Chernihiv authorities reported that strikes hit three agricultural businesses and a school over 24 hours leading to October 26, which destroyed 700 tonnes of potatoes and set a grain store on fire. This strike also damaged a hangar that held 70 tonnes of wheat and soybeans. In Chernivtsi, a drone attack on the evening of October 26 damaged an energy facility, halted trolleybuses, and left several districts without power. In Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces struck the City Mall shopping centre again on October 26, which caused a fire in the facility that had already sustained damage in September.
Strikes reach Russian territory and occupied regions
Russian territory also experienced significant strikes, including a night attack in Voronezh on October 25-26 which killed two men and injured 17 people. Many victims in Voronezh were on a train when falling debris damaged a carriage of the Anapa-Moscow service at Somovo station. Governor Alexander Gusev said fires broke out at several industrial facilities, an office building in the city centre, a block of flats, and a school stadium. In the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, a drone hit a Simferopol-Moscow bus near Primorsk on October 27, which killed one person and injured 30, according to Russian-installed governor Yevgeny Balitsky. In the Lipetsk region, the number of people injured in the October 25 missile attack on Yelets rose to seven, and Ukraine’s General Staff said the strike hit the Energiya plant and destroyed its main microchip production centre. In the Bryansk region, a drone attack killed one man and injured six on October 27. In the Melitopol area, Ukraine’s General Staff said it struck a Russian army communications hub and a drone workshop on October 26, along with command posts and depots in occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In the Luhansk region, Ukrainian strike drones hit an ammunition depot near Khrustalnyi overnight on October 26-27. Crimea also faced consumption restrictions after damage to main networks caused a cut in line capacity.
