Russian and Ukrainian attacks using drones and missiles continue, targeting energy facilities and infrastructure in both countries, amid announcements by both sides of intercepting large numbers of drones and missiles, while diplomatic efforts continue to reach a settlement ending the war.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced that its forces intercepted and destroyed more than 8,000 drones and missiles during October last month, while repelling large-scale Russian attacks. Ukrainian News Agency quoted the ministry in a statement on Thursday, saying the Ukrainian Air Force also neutralized more than 43,000 tactical-level drones during the same month.
It added that air targets are countered by fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, mobile fire groups, unmanned system operators, and electronic warfare equipment. The ministry noted that Russian forces systematically changed drone flight paths and altitudes, combining attack drones with decoy aircraft, alongside carrying out large-scale missile strikes.
It pointed out that ballistic missiles remain a challenge for Ukrainian defenses, noting the need for its forces to have more effective means to counter them, and to continue working on enhancing the multi-layered air defense system and developing air threat detection methods. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Wednesday that 40 people were killed in a Russian attack targeting a school in the town of Komyshevuha in the Zaporizhzhia region, noting that search and rescue operations are ongoing, with the possibility of more than 30 people under the rubble.
In the same context, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its forces carried out drone strikes during the past night targeting energy facilities, logistics centers, and ships in Ukraine. The ministry stated, in a statement carried by Sputnik agency, that the strikes hit a logistics center for "Novaya Pochta" company in the town of Novyi Korotych in Kharkiv region, a 330-kilovolt substation in Dnipropetrovsk region, and a cargo ship it said was carrying military equipment in the Black Sea, 52 kilometers southwest of Odesa.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also announced that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 496 Ukrainian drones during the past 12 hours over several Russian areas and the waters of the Azov and Black Seas. The ministry clarified that interception operations covered the Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, Rostov, Ryazan, Tambov, and Tula regions, as well as the Moscow region, Krasnodar Krai, and the Crimean Peninsula.
For his part, US envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Monday that the United States would mediate in trilateral negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States at the working group level, hosted in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. Witkoff said the negotiations would cover post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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