Russia Launches Mass Missile-and-Drone Strikes

On the night of October 23, Russian missile-and-drone strikes pummeled Ukraine, hitting Kyiv and regions including Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy. The attacks killed at least three people nationwide and injured dozens, including children; in Kharkiv a second drone strike on rescuers in the village of Zelenyi Hai killed Chief Master Sergeant Yurii Petrovych Chystikov and wounded five colleagues. Strikes set fires, damaged high‑rise residential buildings and other infrastructure, and prompted evacuations from upper floors and a kindergarten in Kyiv. Ukraine’s air force reported intercepting large numbers of incoming drones and missiles, while Russian officials said they targeted military‑industrial and energy facilities and claimed to have downed Ukrainian drones. President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian leaders renewed calls for more Patriot air‑defence systems and for sanctions on Russian oil to limit war funding.