Russian Strikes Kill Eight and Cut Power to a Million Ukrainians
Russian attacks on nine Ukrainian regions on Friday killed at least eight people, injured 60 and cut electricity to more than a million, Ukrainian officials said; most have since been reconnected. Kharkiv, Kramatorsk, Volyn and Rivne were hit, and shopping centres were struck in Rivne and Sumy. In Volyn about 370,000 households lost power, and Lutsk’s mayor warned the blackout could last at least 24 hours.
United Nations monitors say at least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 wounded in September, 85% more than a year earlier. “The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years,” said Danielle Bell, head of the UN’s monitoring mission. Russia’s military chief told Vladimir Putin on Friday that the assets needed to press the aerial campaign against Ukraine’s energy system had been allocated. The defensive gap is widening: CNN reports that Kyiv has run out of Patriot interceptors, among the few weapons able to stop ballistic missiles, and Mr Zelensky says Starlink operations have improved but are not fully restored.