Ukraine Launches Major Attack on Russia as U.S. Tensions Continue – At least one person has been killed and another five injured following one of Ukraine’s largest aerial attacks against Russia in the conflict so far.
Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones towards its eastern aggressor overnight into the morning of Monday, 19th October.
T-14 Armata Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
T-14 Armata. Image Credit: Russian State Media.
It follows a weekend of further tensions between Kyiv and Washington.
Massive Strike on Putin’s Hometown of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said Sunday’s strikes sparked fires at the city’s oil terminal, the Ruchi oil depot, and industrial workhouses in the city’s Kolpinksy district. Beglov said the “massive” strike had killed one person and injured five, with residential buildings and two houses also hit. There was also disruption at St. Petersburg’s main airport where operations were restricted “for safety reasons,” the governor added.
Russian e-commerce firm Ozon reported a fire at its logistics hub in St. Petersburg, while in the broader region surrounding the city, internet company VK said its data center had been attacked by drones.
Regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko said 145 drones were shot down, with 20,000 residents left without electricity following the attack.
A total of 1,015 Ukrainian drones were neutralized overnight across 15 Russian regions, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. It added that drones were also shot down over occupied Crimea and the Black Sea.
Trump on Truth
Tensions continue to mount between the leaders of the United States and Ukraine. The latest spat began earlier this month, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal to secure Russian diesel. He later called for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stand down shortly afterward. Last week, confusion reigned when the SpaceX-owned Starshield systems were restricted in Ukraine, leaving Ukrainian air defenses effectively redundant against a major Russian ballistic missile attack.
Trump, who announced the suspension of fresh Russian sanctions on Friday, 16th October, once again lashed out at his Ukrainian counterpart in a Truth Social post.
“My decision on [Russian sanctions] is a very simple one,” Trump wrote. “I am in the process of negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” he continued, adding that “great progress” was being made.
Trump also highlighted that Russia “is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing.”
The U.S. President then moved on to Zelensky, whom he criticized for continually attacking Russian diesel refineries, arguing that the Ukrainian leader “doesn’t care” about the impact of the strikes on global diesel supply while accusing him of not wanting to end the war amid ongoing financial support for Kyiv. “He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead. I WANT THIS WAR END! [sic],” Trump concluded.
76 Attacks on Energy Facilities
After Trump announced a short-lived, one-way energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine the previous weekend, Zelensky – who said his country would no longer observe the truce in an interview with the Financial Times – said Moscow had attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure 76 times in the space of a week. He added that “tens of thousands” of families had been left without power as a result of the Russian attacks in a social media post on Sunday.
“In total, over this past week, the Russians have attacked Ukraine with almost 2,700 attack drones, 1,700 aerial bombs, and 66 missiles, most of them ballistic,” Zelensky added. “The main targets of these strikes are energy facilities – the Russians are trying to cause a blackout. And America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements.”
The Ukrainian President argued that Russia “must face pressure for peace to have a chance.”
Two Killed in Kyiv
On Monday morning, Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said that a woman had been killed overnight following a Russian air strike.
The attack damaged a subway station, a 25-story residential building, non-residential buildings and a medical facility.
Three people were injured as a result, Klitschko added on Telegram.
About the Author: Shay Bottomley
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist. He has written for the Western Standard, Business Insider, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo.
