Hi, this is Francis Farrell reporting from Kyiv on day 1,337 of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Our top story so far today:
A large-scale missile and drone attack on energy infrastructure across Ukraine killed six people and injured at least 36 overnight on Oct. 22, according to authorities.
In Kyiv, two people were killed and 21 injured, while four were killed in the Brovarsky district of Kyiv Oblast, regional authorities said. In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, at least 15 civilians were injured, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
The strikes were widespread — President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 22 that Russia had also struck sites in Odesa, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, and Sumy oblasts.
Ukraine’s biggest private energy firm, DTEK, said emergency power outages were in place in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and reported “significant damage” to energy infrastructure in Odesa Oblast.
“I was sitting in the corridor, waiting out the attack, when I heard a powerful explosion.” Halyna Ivanivna Sharii, a resident of a building in the Dniprovskiy District , located on the left bank of the capital, told the Kyiv Independent.
“For a moment, I thought our building was collapsing but it turned out it was the one next door. It was terrifying. But what can you do? It’s not the first time my building has shaken like this.
“We just have to endure it. This is war.”
6 killed, 21 injured in Kyiv and oblast during mass Russian overnight missile and drone attack
Explosions rocked Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight on Oct. 22 as Russia launched a large-scale aerial attack against Ukraine.
Russian strike on Kharkiv kills 1, injures at least 6; kindergarten hit
Last updated 2:00 p.m. Kyiv time.
Russia attacked Kharkiv with drones on Oct. 22, damaging a kindergarten and killing one person and leaving six injured, local authorities reported.
Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that drone strikes occurred in the city’s Kholodnohirskyi district in the western part of the city, and that the person killed was a 40-year-old man.
Amil Omarov, the head of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office, said that it was likely the attack included jet-powered Geran-2 Shahed-type drones.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that the children were sheltering at the time the drone hit and were not injured. Terekhov also said the kindergarten was directly hit, and at the time of the attack, 48 children and teachers were there, as reported by Suspilne Kharkiv.
Russian strike on Kharkiv kills 1, injures at least 6; kindergarten hit
Russia attacked Kharkiv with drones on Oct. 22, damaging a kindergarten and killing one person, injuring at least six, local authorities reported.
Last updated 1:35 p.m. Kyiv time.
Drones reportedly struck an oil refinery in Makhachkala, Dagestan, and a mechanical plant in Saransk, Mordovia, on Oct. 22, the Astra Telegram channel reported, citing local residents.
Russian air defenses intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones overnight and into the morning of Oct. 22, including eight over Dagestan, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. No drones were reportedly shot down over Mordovia.
Meanwhile, drones were sighted over Saransk, the largest city in Mordovia. Artyom Zdunov, the head of the republic, confirmed that the region had come under a large-scale drone attack, which caused damage to a local enterprise.
At least one drone struck the Saransk Mechanical Plant, a facility known to produce explosives, according to open-source intelligence analyzed by Astra.
The Saransk Mechanical Plant is part of the state-owned Rostec Corporation and manufactures equipment and components for various industries, with a primary focus on mechanical engineering and the defense sector.
Ukrainian drones attack oil refinery, mechanical plant in Russia, media reports
Russian air defenses intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones overnight and into the morning of Oct. 22, including eight over Dagestan, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. No drones were reportedly shot down over Mordovia.
At least 12 killed, 76 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day
Six civilians were killed and 21 injured in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight as Russian forces struck civilian energy infrastructure, local authorities reported.
Four civilians were killed and 11 injured in the city of Novhorod-Siverskyi in Chernihiv Oblast after Russian forces struck the city center with Shahed-type strike drones and Tornado rockets, according to Governor Viacheslav Chaus.
Located less than 40 kilometers from the Russian border, Novhorod-Siverskyi and other settlements in the area are particularly vulnerable to Russian attacks.
In Donetsk Oblast, two civilians were killed and two more injured in the front-line city of Kostiantynivka, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.
15 civilians were injured in two separate Russian attacks in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, including a Shahed-type drone attack on the regional capital that injured 13 people — including two children — and caused extensive damage to apartment buildings, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
A total of 14 civilian residents were injured in Russian drone and artillery attacks in Ukrainian-controlled Kherson Oblast, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
In Sumy Oblast, 12 civilians were injured in Russian drone attacks on the regional capital of Sumy, Governor Oleg Hryhorov said.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a 66-year-old women was injured in a Russian strike on Nikopol district on the bank of the Dnipro River, Governor Vladyslav Haivanenko reported.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,133,250 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost around 1,133,250 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Oct. 22.
The number includes 1,050 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,280 tanks, 23,447 armored fighting vehicles, 65,122 vehicles and fuel tanks, 33,914 artillery systems, 1,524 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,229 air defense systems, 428 airplanes, 346 helicopters, 72,760 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
Editorial: Europe, it’s time to finally be brave. Start with Russian assets
A few weeks ago, U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg gently berated Europe for not standing on its own two feet on the global stage and in confrontation with Russia. “I don’t think the Europeans know how good they are, you’re really good at what you do, and you don’t need the United States with you in an alliance, you can handle things on your own,” he told the Warsaw Security Conference. “It’s like when my kids were ready to ride bicycles, they started with training wheels — you don’t need any t
