Russia Says It Shot Down 1,214 Ukrainian Drones in Large Overnight Air Attack
Key Facts
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 1,214 Ukrainian drones overnight from October 28 to 29, in an attack it described as one of the largest launched by Kyiv. The Associated Press reported the ministry as saying the drones targeted Russia overnight, without providing an independent tally of the attack. The figure puts the attack above the previous total announced by the ministry on September 20, when it said it had shot down 1,110 drones. In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 613 drones were headed for the capital and that Russia shot down most of them. The two figures underscore the scale of the reported attack, while the tally of drones shot down and their destinations remain attributed to Russian authorities.
The reported attack coincided with Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a Russian attack damaged an educational institution in the city, Reuters reported. In Dnipro, a Russian jet-powered drone hit two passenger trains at a station on October 29, according to the Associated Press. The attack killed at least 14 people and wounded 14 others, the agency reported. The incidents show civilian effects of attacks at more than one location in Ukraine on the same day, with damage ranging from an educational facility to a train station.
Strikes also hit other Ukrainian regions on October 29. A drone attack in Chernihiv wounded 23 people, including 4 children, and killed two teenagers, Reuters reported. In Kremenchuk, strikes targeting a residential building and private homes killed 3 people and wounded 32, according to the regional governor. Russian drones also hit buses in 3 separate attacks on Zaporizhzhia, wounding 6 people, according to local officials cited by Reuters. Reported casualties and damage were spread across residential areas, streets and buses, while Ukraine’s central bank warned that damage to industrial targets could push the country into recession, the Associated Press reported.
In Oleshky, a local truce between Russia and Ukraine entered its third day on October 29 as military units cleared mines ahead of the arrival of aid, according to the Associated Press. The truce was confined to Oleshky and its wider surroundings in the Kherson region and did not cover other areas of fighting, Reuters reported. The agency said both sides reported that mine clearance had ended and the aid convoy was ready to move. The city was facing severe shortages of food and medicine amid continuing shelling, according to the report. Reuters estimated that about 1,500 of Oleshky’s residents, from a prewar population of 24,000, were still living there.
In an update published by the Associated Press on October 30, a humanitarian mission entered Oleshky with a convoy of 25 buses and an ambulance carrying food and medicine. The agency said the mission also aimed to evacuate those wishing to leave for Russia or Ukraine. Officials and volunteers estimated that about 2,000 people were still living in the city, according to the agency’s update. The convoy’s arrival marked a development in the relief operation, which had been preparing to enter the city after mine clearance. This came as Russian strikes continued in other parts of Ukraine.
On the diplomatic front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States had agreed to hold a technical meeting in Abu Dhabi during the first half of November. He added that he hoped it would be followed by a meeting of the countries’ leaders. Zelenskyy said any peace deal would need strong security guarantees for Ukraine and funding for its army for 10 years. The announced talks come as the Oleshky truce remained geographically limited and attacks continued elsewhere. The next announced milestone is the technical meeting; the statement did not set a date for a leaders’ meeting.