Two people were killed and at least 17 others were injured, including six children, as a result of overnight Russian missile and drone attacks on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on October 30 described the attacks as a “complex, combined strike,” noting that Russian forces used over 650 drones and more than 50 missiles of various types, including ballistic and aeroballistic missiles.
“Russia continues its terrorist war against life itself, and it’s crucial that every such vile attack on civilians boomerangs back on Russia with concrete consequences – sanctions and real pressure,” he added.
The National Energy Company Ukrenergo reported that massive missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have caused emergency power outages across most regions of the country.
“As a result of these large-scale attacks, consumption restrictions have been imposed in all regions of Ukraine,” the statement said on October 30.
Ukrenergo later announced that electricity consumption restrictions would be eased following the Russian combined attack.
Ukraine’s Emergency Service reported on October 30 that rescuers had recovered the body of a man from the rubble of a residential building destroyed in one of the attacks. Local authorities later confirmed that the body of another victim had been recovered from beneath the debris.
A seven-year-old girl, injured in a Russian strike on Ukraine’s west-central Vinnytsia region, has died in hospital, according to Natalya Zabolotna, first deputy head of the regional military administration.
“She was admitted to the hospital in critical condition. Doctors fought for her life, but unfortunately, they were unable to save her,” she wrote in a Telegram post.
In Ukraine’s western Lviv region, which borders NATO and EU member Poland, the regional governor reported that two energy facilities were hit.
“Russia continues its systematic terror — striking at the lives, dignity, and warmth of Ukrainians on the eve of winter,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its armed forces had carried out a massive overnight strike on Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities, energy infrastructure, and military airfields in response to Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets in Russia.
“The strike achieved its objectives, with all designated targets hit,” the ministry said in the October 30 statement.
Commander Visits Frontline Positions Near Pokrovsk
Ukraine’s top commander, after visiting frontline positions in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad area, said that Russian troops are stepping up attacks around the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk.
Oleksandr Syrskiy wrote on Telegram that Ukraine is strengthening its defenses to repel the attacks.
“The situation is difficult, but Russian propaganda claims about the alleged ‘encirclement’ of Ukraine’s Defense Forces in Pokrovsk, as well as in Kupyansk, do not correspond to reality,” Syrskiy said on October 30.
Pokrovsk, a city of about 7,000 inhabitants — down from more than 60,000 prewar — holds crucial road and rail junctions and has been under threat of encirclement by Russian forces for most of the year.
In early October, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russian troops had entered the city, but Ukrainian officials at the time denied the report and said Kremlin forces continued to suffer heavy losses in the region.
On October 26, Ukraine’s General Staff said several small Russian infantry units — totaling some 200 soldiers — had evaded defensive lines and established positions inside Pokrovsk.
With reporting from RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, AFP, and Reuters
