Iskander-M and 162 drones the night before Abu Dhabi – jet-powered drones the majority; what was hit in Kropyvnytskyi and Sumy

Russia launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile and 162 drones against Ukraine overnight into Tuesday, November 10, a few hours before US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations sat at the same table in Abu Dhabi. The Ukrainian Air Force announced that air defences shot down or electronically neutralised 135 of the drones, while strikes were recorded at 19 locations and falling debris at another nine.

What stands out is the composition of the attack. Of the 162 Shahed, Gerbera and “Parodiya” decoy drones, 96 were jet-powered, more than half. Of those, 70 were shot down or neutralised electronically. The Iskander-M was launched from the Millerovo area in Russia’s Rostov region, while the drones came from Bryansk, Oryol, Shatalovo, Millerovo and Hvardiiske in occupied Crimea. The aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups all took part in repelling the attack.

The attack did not end at dawn. Until 09:30 Ukrainian time the Air Force was still tracking jet-powered drones heading for Kyiv, Vasylkiv, Obukhiv and Chernihiv, and recording guided aerial bombs dropped by Russian tactical aviation in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions and in Zaporizhzhia.

Kropyvnytskyi and Sumy

In Kropyvnytskyi the regional administration wrote that Russian forces hit civilian infrastructure in the city and that a retail store was struck. Two men were injured and are in serious condition, one in intensive care and the other in surgery, where burns specialists are caring for him.

In Sumy, a Russian drone hit a suburban train standing at the railway station platform in the morning. Ukrainian Railways reported that the crew was in a shelter and that neither passengers nor railway workers were hurt. The Sumy regional administration spoke of a targeted attack and recorded nearly 60 attacks on 26 settlements in the region within 24 hours. A 38-year-old man was killed by a drone in the Mykolaivka community. Seven people were injured, six of them in the Sumy community, and a 73-year-old woman suffered acute stress.

Just one night earlier, into Monday, November 9, Ukraine had counted 317 Russian drones, 105 of them jet-powered, as we reported. In early November Kyiv had also denounced the use of North Korean KN-23 missiles against energy infrastructure.

In Abu Dhabi, the two-day talks under US mediation have security guarantees for Ukraine as a main topic, according to Marco Rubio. At the same time, in Paris, Europeans are demanding a place in the negotiations, as we reported from the G7 meeting.