Kyiv is attacked by Iranian-made suicide drones
Monday in Kyiv began much as it did one week again: with a new barrage of air attacks that coincided with the morning rush hour: at least three people have been killed and more than a dozen missing under the rubble after at least 28 kamikaze drones targeted the Ukrainian capital.
Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.
Sign up to our free daily newsletter.Reuters reports from Kyiv that Ukrainian soldiers fired into the air trying to shoot down the drones. Authorities encouraged all residents to take shelter underground. Among the deaths reported was a young couple expecting their first child, reports an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The attacks Monday were again nationwide, with Moscow carrying out attacks on crucial energy facilities in three Ukrainian regions and disrupted power in some areas. The attack on energy infrastructure in the Kamianske district of the Dnipropetrovsk region caused "fire" and "serious destruction," according to regional military official Valentyn Reznichenko.
Across the country, a total of 43 of kamikaze drones, reported to have been imported from Iran, were launched by Russian forces, according to Kyiv-based news site Lviy Bereg.
In the southern Odessa region, the Russians launched a Kh-59 missile strike from the Black Sea and damaged an infrastructure facility. There were no casualties. Since the beginning of the day, the air alert in the Odessa region has already been announced four times: from 03:10 to 06:53, from 08:07 to 08:34, from 09:21 to 09:32 and from 09:37 to 09:55.
National Police Officers Shooting Down Iranian Drone
Anton Geraschenko, advisor to the Ukraine Presidency, posted this video of police officers shooting down an Iranian drone.
Israeli Minister Says Time To Arm Ukraine If Iran Continues To Back Russia
Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai said his country should begin providing military assistance to Ukraine in response to reports that Iran is helping to arm Russia. Shai is the highest ranking Israeli official to say the country’s de facto neutral position should end.
“This morning it was reported that Iran is transferring ballistic missiles to Russia. There is no longer any doubt where Israel should stand in this bloody conflict,” Shai wrote on Twitter. “The time has come for Ukraine to receive military aid as well, just as the USA and NATO countries provide.”
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has been a hard-line voice inside the Kremlin during the war, immediately reacted to the Israeli minister's statement.“Israel seems to be going to supply arms to the Kyiv regime,” commented Medvedev. “It is a very rash step. It will destroy all inter-state relations between our countries.”
What Is Israel’s Policy On Ukraine?
While Israel has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine and expressed their disapproval of the Russian invasion, it has thus far avoided following suit with the U.S. and other allies in supplying military weapons, specifically missile defense systems to fend off Russian airstrikes.
Israel has in their possession some of the best air defense systems in the world, including the Arrow 3, Iron Dome, and the latest Iron Beam laser-based missile defense system — all of which could provide precious protection to Ukraine as it faces regular air and missile attacks from Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized Israel for not offering military aid, saying in September that he was “shocked” by their failure to supply anti-air defense systems.
Reports have been released stating that Israeli intelligence has been monitoring the situation in Ukraine, and Israeli drone experts have been on the ground there for some time to examine the alleged Iranian drones that Kyiv has been able to shoot down.
On Monday Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai said that military aid should be provided to Ukraine in light of Iran’s possible supplying of weapons to Russia.
“This morning it was reported that Iran is transferring ballistic missiles to Russia. There is no longer any doubt where Israel should stand in this bloody conflict. The time has come for Ukraine to receive military aid as well, just as the USA and NATO countries provide,” he wrote on Twitter.
Investigation Underway Mass Shooting At Russian Military Range In Belgorod
Screenshot of video
Russia is investigating an incident in which two men gunned down a group of Russian soldiers in the Belgorod region in western Russia, some 40 miles north of the Ukrainian border. Eleven people were killed and 15 were wounded, Moscow said. However, some Russian independent media outlets put the figures as higher.
The Russian Defence Ministry blamed the incident on a “terrorist attack.” Oleksiy Arestovych, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the attackers were from the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan and had opened fire after an argument over religion.
Bologrod was also the scene of an attack on an airport. Military experts said the attack might have been directed at Russian surface-to-air missile batteries that are believed to have recently shot down two Ukrainian warplanes. Kyiv has not commented on the attack.
UNICEF Says Ukraine War Pushing 4 Million Children Into Poverty
Drawing data from 22 different countries, UNICEF said on Monday that four million children across Eastern Europe and Central Asia have been put in poverty by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While Russian and Ukrainian children are the most affected, the conflict “and rising inflation have driven an additional four million children across Eastern Europe and Central Asia into poverty, a 19% increase since 2021”, the agency said.
Russia Doubles Down On Mobilization, Asks Kids To Tell On Fathers
In Moscow and St. Petersburg, police are reportedly going door-to-door to hand out summons to men in hotels, clinics, and even at exits to subway stations; men are caught and given orders to go to the military registration and enlistment office.
In one video that circulated on Telegram, a man is seen running through a park in St. Petersburg, trying to evade the police.
Across Russia, representatives of the military registration and enlistment offices reportedly show up at universities. According to the Moscow-based independent investigative organization Conflict Intelligence Team, school students and kindergarten children have been asked to report if their fathers have received a summons and not reported.
First Of 9,000 Russian Troops Start Arriving In Belarus As Part Of Joint Deployment
The Defense Ministry of Belarus tweeted that an estimated 9,000 Russian troops will be part of the regional grouping in Belarus, following the deal between President Alexander Lukashenko and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Valeriy Revenko, head of the Belarusian Defense Ministry's international military cooperation department, added that the first trains carrying Russian servicemen had begun to arrive in Belarus.
Putin and longtime ally Lukashenko agreed last week to deploy a joint regional grouping of troops after Lukashenko said Ukraine was allegedly planning strikes against Belarus.
Musk Will Continue Funding Starlink
Elon Musk | Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla.
www.flickr.comSpaceX founder Elon Musk said he would continue to fund Starlink satellite communications in Ukraine. “The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free,” Musk tweeted.
Last week, Musk asked the Pentagon to pay for the supply and maintenance of Starlink in Ukraine, as the estimated cost is expected to top $120 million by the end of the year.
The United States Department of Defense has confirmed that they’ve been in communication with SpaceX regarding the Starlink satellites, according to Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.
Italian Killed Fighting For Russia Identified As Former Milan Barista
The third Italian “foreign fighter” to be killed in the war in Ukraine has been identified as a native of the island of Sardinia who had worked in Milan as a barista before eventually joining the pro-Russia militia in the Donbas region in 2019.
The Italian Foreign Ministry on Monday confirmed weekend press reports that identified the dead fighter as Elia Putzolu, 28, who was active in the Fort Rus community after moving to the Russian city of Taganrog, near the Ukraine border. His Facebook page included a quote from British writer Aldous Huxley about the “perfect dictator.”
The two other Italian fighters killed in Ukraine include one other fighting with the Russian side, and one with Ukraine.
Ukrainian Fighters Tie The Knot In Kharkiv
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French news channel LCI reports on the wedding last week between two members of the Ukrainian forces, who chose to tie the knot on a particularly meaningful day for Ukraine.
Chantal, 20, and Oleg, 25 — who met for the first time in the summer, on the frontlines in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine — were married last Friday on a military base in the Kharkiv region. Fellow soldiers served as guests for the celebration, as both the soldiers’ families live far away.
The couple chose Oct. 14 as their wedding date, as Friday marked Defenders’ Day, a public holiday in Ukraine celebrated annually to honor veterans and fallen members of the Ukrainian armed forces.
