Russian drone and missile strikes kill four and injure 78 in Ukraine

Kyiv and northern strikes

Russian drone strikes and missile attacks killed four people and injured 78 across Ukraine over the past day, according to local authorities. In the early hours of Oct. 24, a Russian drone struck a residential building in Kyiv’s Obolon District, which injured two people and caused a fire, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. On Oct. 23, Russian forces attacked Chernihiv, killing one man and injuring at least 25 people. An air raid alert sounded in Chernihiv at 1:40 p.m. local time due to a missile threat, and Ukraine’s Air Force reported drones and a Banderol low-cost cruise missile heading toward the city minutes later. Chernihiv City Council said two private businesses were also targeted in the strike. In Zhytomyr, a Russian drone attack on Oct. 23 injured nine people, including two children, according to Ukraine’s police force. Sumy experienced 40 attacks on 25 settlements, injuring five people, while the regional military administration said air alerts sounded for more than 18 hours.

Front-line cities and drone numbers

Donetsk Oblast saw heavy casualties as Russian shelling of a residential area in Kramatorsk killed one person and injured six others, including three children, on Oct. 23, according to the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office. Sloviansk Mayor Vadym Lyakh wrote on Oct. 24 that Russian attacks throughout the previous day killed one 62-year-old woman and injured four people. I find the repeated strikes on residential areas and children to be appalling. In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said a Russian attack on Dnipro killed one and injured eight people, while three more people were injured in the Pidhorodnenska community. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synehubov said Russian forces injured seven people, including a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy, while destroying homes, businesses, and gas stations. Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported six injuries in residential areas on Oct. 23. In Odesa, Governor Oleh Kiper said three people were injured after Russia struck a recreational building, an administrative building, and a warehouse.

Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched 126 drones overnight, including 61 models that were jet-powered. Russia increased production of jet-powered drones this year, making them harder to shoot down than propeller-powered predecessors. Ukraine suppressed 101 drones, including 50 jet-powered ones, as the military improved its interception rate over the last month.