Ukraine: 16 ballistic missiles and over 200 drones in one night – 550,000 households without power, “again no warning from the partners”

Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles and more than 200 drones against Ukraine overnight into Monday, October 19, leaving at least 550,000 households without power, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Another Russian ballistic attack in several waves during the night, and again there was no warning from the partners,” he wrote, noting that the ballistic missiles targeted Kyiv and its region.

According to Zelensky, the target was energy and infrastructure, but a medical clinic, a school, a metro station and apartment blocks were also damaged. Energy facilities were hit in 11 regions, from Vinnytsia, Volyn and Kirovohrad to Kharkiv, Odesa and Rivne, and more than 10 facilities were damaged in this night alone.

What the Air Force reports

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia used Iskander-M and S-400 ballistic missiles, Iskander-K cruise missiles and 269 Shahed-type and other drones, 59 of them jet-powered. By 09:00 Kyiv time, 247 targets had been shot down or neutralised, four cruise missiles and 243 drones, while strikes were recorded at 25 locations. The announcement does not mention interceptions of ballistic missiles, and debris fell at eight more locations. The ballistic missiles were launched from the Smolensk, Bryansk and Kursk regions.

Casualties in Kyiv

In Kyiv, according to the State Emergency Service, one person was killed and eight were injured. In the Desnianskyi district a non-residential building burned and cars and a metro station were damaged; in Solomianskyi a fire broke out at a medical centre and the windows of an apartment block were smashed; and in Dniprovskyi a school was hit. On Sunday evening an earlier strike had killed a 21-year-old woman.

Zelensky: “denial of reality”

“When the delivery of missiles for Ukrainian air defence is frozen and Russia gets a relaxation or postponement of sanctions, that is unfortunately denial of reality by the partners,” Zelensky wrote, adding that Ukraine has responded positively to “EVERY” ceasefire proposal.

The remark about the lack of warning comes as Washington denies there was any pause in intelligence sharing, although on Sunday Zelensky said the US had resumed giving intelligence on Russian ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian president has also warned that Moscow wants ballistic missiles in Belarus for strikes on western Ukraine, where jet-powered drones were again moving overnight.