Kyiv, 19 October. Russia's Defence Ministry reported a massive strike overnight into 19 October on targets in Kyiv and the Kyiv region; Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of a new ballistic attack "in several waves overnight", about which, he said, partners again gave no warning (France 24, RT).
According to the Russian military, the Khimvolokno plant in Kyiv, which the ministry says makes components for drone warheads, and a locomotive depot where, by the same account, FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles were stored were hit, as was the Planeta Plastik plant in the Kyiv region (TASS, TASS). The ministry also said a vessel carrying military cargo had been hit 130 km south-west of the port of Odesa (TASS). The Vinnytsia region has no electricity or water after a strike on the power grid, RT reports (RT). There is no independent confirmation of these reports.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in Samarkand, denied that Washington had paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine and urged Zelensky to focus on ending the war (France 24). "We see nothing good coming from this war. We see a lot of downside to it, including the very real risk of escalation and spread of this thing into another country," he told reporters, referring to drones that stray into neighbouring states after being hit by electronic warfare (The Moscow Times). According to Rubio, there has been talk of a meeting of the leaders of the United States, Russia and China, but it has not been finalised (The Moscow Times).
Background: The Kremlin has proposed a trilateral meeting of Putin, Trump and Xi Jinping on Ukraine at the APEC summit in China on 18–19 November; Trump has not agreed so far and the agenda remains unclear (Anadolu). Earlier, media reported that the US had again not warned Ukraine about a ballistic strike on Kyiv (RT).
List of sources used: France 24, RT, TASS, TASS, TASS, RT, The Moscow Times, Anadolu, RT
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
