Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, suffered several Russian strikes on Sunday evening, plunging parts of the city into darkness with no electricity. Twelve people were injured during these attacks. Drones also hit kyiv early Monday morning, injuring one person.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 6,130 Shahed drones, designed by Iran, have been used by Russian forces to strike Ukrainian territory since the beginning of 2024.
In Russia, the Brics summit, which begins Tuesday, will be held in the absence of Brazilian President Lula, who canceled his visit for medical reasons.
We take stock of the events that have marked recent hours.
Also read: Russian explosives factory targeted, hometown of Zelensky… Update of the day
Russian strikes on Kharkiv injure twelve people
At least 12 people were injured Sunday evening in Russian strikes on Kharkiv, which caused power cuts in this large city in northeastern Ukraine, police and local authorities said.
“Around 10 p.m., Russians shelled three districts of Kharkiv […] 12 civilians were injured, including seven women aged 22 to 83 and five men aged 21 to 38,” the police announced in a statement published on Telegram.
“Due to enemy strikes, there is no electricity in some parts of the city,” Ukrainian police had indicated earlier, without specifying how many homes were affected by these cuts. The governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegoubov, and the mayor of the big city, Igor Terekhov, confirmed on Telegram power outages in “a part” of the city.
kyiv targeted by Russian drones
Russia launched series of drones for the second night in a row targeting the Ukrainian capital kyiv, where at least one civilian was injured and residential buildings damaged, Ukrainian authorities said Monday morning.
“The enemy is not weakening in the intensity of its air attacks against Ukraine and kyiv,” said the commander of the military administration of the Kyiv region, Serhiy Popko. Around ten drones arriving in waves towards kyiv were destroyed. None of the devices reached their target, said Serhiy Popko. A man was slightly injured by debris.
6,000 Shahed-type drones launched by Russia in 2024 according to Zelensky
Russia has launched 6,130 Shahed-type drones since the start of 2024, according to statements by Volodymyr Zelensky during his daily speech. These inexpensive devices are designed by Iran and used en masse since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“This year, almost every night, and sometimes in the morning and during the day, we face the threat of “Shahed” drones,” assured the Ukrainian president, affirming that these drones “became one of the main tools of Russian terror against Ukraine.”
“For the day of October 18 alone, we counted 129 of these drones, he added. Since the start of the year, Russia has already used more than 6,130 “Shaheds”. »
Also read: War in Ukraine. What is the Shahed-238, this new drone used by Russia?
“I would like to thank you for your participation in resolving humanitarian issues, including those related to the exchange of prisoners,” Vladimir Putin told Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, welcomed at the Russian president’s residence outside Moscow, according to a broadcast on Russian state television.
“I also refer to the last exchange,” specified the master of the Kremlin at the opening of this informal exchange during which he said he planned to directly discuss the conflict in Ukraine.
Moscow and kyiv announced on Friday that they had exchanged 95 prisoners of war from each camp, after negotiations carried out directly under the aegis of the United Arab Emirates.
The two countries have already exchanged hundreds of prisoners since the Russian offensive launched against Ukraine in February 2022, following agreements negotiated through the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and even Turkey.
Lula absent from Brics summit in Russia for medical reasons
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva canceled his trip to Russia on Sunday for the Brics summit, which he will attend by videoconference, the Brazilian presidency announced, citing the consequences of a domestic accident preventing plane travel.
From October 22 to 24, Russia welcomes around twenty leaders to Kazan, on the Volga, for a summit of this diplomatic bloc originally associating Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and joined this year by four countries (Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt and United Arab Emirates).
Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to show with this summit the failure of the policy of isolation and sanctions carried out by the West in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
“On medical advice, (Lula) will not go to the Brics summit in Kazan, due to a temporary impediment which prohibits him from flying long distances,” said the Brazilian presidency in a press release, without detailing what happened to the head of state.
