Ukraine updates: Drone downed over Moscow, Russia says – DW – 10/20/2024

At least 17 people were injured in Russian missile strikes on the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian authorities said Sunday.

Russia reportedly struck the city, which lies some 350 kilometers (217 miles) from Kyiv, with two ballistic missiles.

The head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, said more than 20 buildings were damaged, including a residential block.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 110 Ukrainian drones over its territory overnight. One of the drones was intercepted near Moscow, the ministry said.

People in Moldova headed to the polls on Sunday to vote in the country’s presidential election and in a referendum on joining the European Union.

Moldova borders south-western Ukraine and, like its larger neighbor, was also formerly part of the Soviet Union.

A largely agricultural country of around 2.5 million people, Moldova has sought to cut ties with Moscow and move closer to the EU since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The eastern Moldovan region of Transnistria is controlled by Russian-backed separatists and is home to several thousand Russian troops.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, many observers considered the Russian army’s attempted advance across southern Ukraine towards the cities of Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa to be ultimately aimed at linking up with those Russian units stationed in Transnistria and threatening Moldova, too.

North Korea condemned a new US-led sanctions monitoring team established after Russia rejected the annual renewal of a UN panel.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui described the move as “utterly unlawful and illegitimate.”

North Korea has in recent years intensified its development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, moves which have been met with international sanctions.

The US and South Korea have warned of North Korea’s deepening military ties with Russia. On Friday, Seoul’s spy agency said that Pyongyang had sent 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s Far East for training, claiming they will likely later be deployed for combat in Ukraine.

Russia and North Korea have both denied they have engaged in arms transfers and the Kremlin dismissed Seoul’s assertions that Pyongyang may have sent military personnel to aid in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia launched an air attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging service.

“Air defense forces are at work in the capital. Stay in shelters!” Klitschko told residents.

Earlier in the night, Ukrainian authorities had sounded air raid alerts across 15 regions.

One woman was injured in Kyiv after a piece of drone debris crashed through her window, Klitschko said in an earlier Telegram message.

According to authorities, eight people were injured in an attack using drones and glide bombs in the northeastern region of Sumy and one woman was killed in the Cherkasy region in central Ukraine.

Ukraine launched a series of drones on Moscow and western Russia, regional officials said.

No injuries or significant damage was reported.

Russian air defense destroyed at least one drone as it made its way to the Russian capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a post on the Telegram messaging service.

Drone debris sparked several fires in the Lipetsk region in southwestern Russia, which were then rapidly extinguished, regional Governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram.

The governors of the western Bryansk and Oryol regions also reported that several drones were destroyed by air defense units.

The reports could not be independently verified.

sdi/rm (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)