Russian attacks kill at least nine across Ukraine; Moscow claims two Zaporizhzhia villages as Kyiv reports 269 clashes

Russian attacks killed at least nine people and injured 45 across Ukraine over the 24 hours to Wednesday 21 October, regional authorities said, according to The Kyiv Independent. In Kyiv, a drone hit a 24-storey apartment building in Sviatoshynskyi District early on Wednesday, killing at least two people, the city military administration said. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched Iskander-K cruise missiles and 186 drones overnight and that 150 drones were downed.

Regional governors reported four people killed in Donetsk region, two in Kharkiv region and one in Zaporizhzhia region, and 13 injured in Kherson region. In Odesa region, a drone attack damaged energy facilities, governor Oleh Kiper said.

Ukraine’s General Staff said 269 combat clashes took place in the 24 hours to 8am Kyiv time (5am GMT) on Wednesday, including 37 Russian attacks on the Kostiantynivka front, 30 on the Pokrovsk front and 20 on the Huliaipole front, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had taken Chervony Yar and Yulyevka in Zaporizhzhia region and that Ukraine had lost up to 220 troops in one sector over a day, Interfax reported. Neither side’s battlefield claims can be independently verified.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its 20 October assessment that it had seen evidence of a net Russian loss of 122 square kilometres between 1 September and 16 October, after gains of about 100 square kilometres since 1 January. It said Ukraine’s “Operation Vivaldi” counteroffensive near Lyman had disrupted Russian plans in Donetsk region. The ISW also said Russia’s Defence Ministry had made “exaggerated claims” of advances near Huliaipole.

Background: Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and occupies parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The fighting continues as US envoys work to restart three-way talks; see our report on Witkoff’s meeting with Putin.