As the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Telegram on Wednesday, 14 October, four ballistic missiles and 115 drones were shot down or suppressed, according to the news agency Ukrinform.
The attack began on Tuesday, 13 October, at 18:00 and lasted into the morning. According to the Air Force, Russia deployed 39 missiles of various types as well as 128 drones. The main targets were Kyiv, the Kyiv region and the Kharkiv region. It was particularly notable that various types of aircraft were deployed simultaneously from several directions and that many ballistic missiles targeted energy facilities.
The Air Force registered a total of 167 means of air attack. Among the missiles were Iskander-M, KN-23, S-400, Zirkon and Oniks, launched from the Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh and Rostov regions. The drones were Shahed drones – 77 of them with jet propulsion – as well as Banderol, Dan-T, Gerbera, Italmas and Parodija decoy drones. They came from directions such as Millerovo, Oryol, occupied Donetsk, Hvardiiske in occupied Crimea and the Sea of Azov.
According to preliminary Air Force figures, by 9:00 on Wednesday four ballistic missiles and 115 drones had been shot down or suppressed, including 59 jet drones. That corresponds to 90 per cent of all attack drones deployed. Impacts were registered in 22 locations, and debris from downed targets fell in eight locations. Some of the Russian missiles did not reach their targets. The Air Force warned that the attack was continuing and that several attack drones were still in Ukrainian airspace.
Kharkiv: four dead and 41 injured
In Kharkiv, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, four people were killed and 41 injured. An ordinary residential building was destroyed, and the search for people buried under the rubble was continuing, Zelenskyy said according to WirtschaftsWoche. In Kyiv, four people were killed in a Russian attack.
Zelenskyy spoke of a “treacherous ballistic attack on Kyiv – five missiles that hit civilian infrastructure”. He complained that “unfortunately, there was no advance warning of this attack from our partners”. “Intelligence data about the launch of Russian ballistic missiles helps save lives, and this is one of the most critical issues,” he said on Telegram. He did not name any partner, but called for a strong America and a strong Europe as well as effective pressure on Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said at the Warsaw Security Forum that there was still an exchange of intelligence data with the USA. The air alert had indeed been triggered late during the night, but this was connected with a special type of weapon that Russia had used. He did not provide any information on the type of weapons. US President Donald Trump denied, in front of the White House, the question of whether the USA had stopped the exchange of intelligence information with Ukraine: “We help them and we share intelligence information,” he said.
Energy facilities in the crosshairs, ceasefire broken
After the attack, the Air Force had stated that it needed to be clarified why there had been no warning of the Russian attack this time. Kyiv had also been surprised by fast ballistic missiles in the past. Citizens had complained that no air alert had been triggered.
Zelenskyy again complained that Russia was not complying with US President Trump’s call for a ceasefire on attacks on energy facilities. Since the announcement of the ceasefire, Kyiv had not attacked any Russian oil refineries or other targets in the Russian energy sector. “During this time, the Russians have attacked both our energy facilities and our critical infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said. 19 regions were affected.
In the USA, twelve senators called on President Trump to withdraw from his diesel deal with Russia. In a letter initiated by Democrat Richard Blumenthal, according to the Berliner Morgenpost, giving Moscow the opportunity to sell Russian diesel freely on the world market harms US security interests and is “a betrayal of the people in Ukraine”. The agreement is “a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our allies”.
Editor’s note: The figures on intercepted targets and casualties are preliminary. The Air Force reported that the attack was still ongoing at the time of its statement.
