Russian troops launched a massive attack on the western Ukrainian city of Rivne and its surroundings on the night of Sunday, hitting civilian infrastructure according to the regional administration. As the head of the Rivne region military administration, Oleksandr Koval, announced on Telegram on Sunday, 18 October, fires broke out at the impact sites and have now been contained. “Once again a massive attack on Rivne and the surroundings. Once again civilian infrastructure facilities are among the enemy’s targets. The services are already working to deal with the consequences,” the news agency Ukrinform quoted him as saying. There was initially no information on casualties.
According to Koval, rescue and emergency services are on the scene. “There is currently no information about casualties,” the regional governor wrote, according to the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda.
The Rivne region had already been the target of Russian attacks several times in the preceding days. On 16 October, according to Ukrainska Pravda, Russian drones hit a residential area of the city as well as a large retail store. On 14 October, according to Koval, Russian forces attacked the region all night and all morning; he initially reported five injured, and later the number of those affected rose to eight. At that time, residential infrastructure and two agricultural industry enterprises were hit. On 13 October, according to Ukrainska Pravda, a Russian drone struck a building of an educational institution in the centre of Rivne, and 25 people were injured.
