KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched 153 attack drones and several missiles at Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Oct. 25, hitting energy facilities, retail stores and homes across nine regions. Local officials reported eight people killed and 51 injured across the country over the past day.
The overnight barrage capped a week in which, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia fired about 1,600 guided aerial bombs, 48 missiles and nearly 2,300 drones at Ukraine. Zelensky used the figures to press European governments to release Patriot air-defense interceptors that, he said, have already been approved for delivery.
What the Air Force reported
Ukraine’s Air Force said 92 of the 153 drones were jet-powered Shahed-type models. The rest were other attack and decoy drones. Russia also fired Banderol and Dan-T missiles. Air defenses shot down or jammed 119 drones, including 64 of the jet-powered ones, according to the Air Force statement reported by Ukrainska Pravda. Drones struck 15 locations and falling debris was recorded at nine more. As of 8 a.m. local time, nine drones were still in Ukrainian airspace.
“Unfortunately, almost every day, these brutal strikes leave people killed and injured,” Zelensky wrote on X. He listed a thermal power plant, electrical substations, coal mines, grain storage sites, shopping centers and a postal logistics hub among the targets.
Dnipropetrovsk: death toll rises in Synelnykove
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the death toll from a Saturday strike on the city of Synelnykove rose to four when a 62-year-old man died in hospital on Sunday morning, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said. Thirteen people were injured in that attack, including an 11-year-old girl, and four remained in serious condition. Across the region, Hanzha reported four killed and 14 injured over the period.
Vinnytsia apartment block and care home hit
In Vinnytsia, a drone hit a five-story apartment building, injuring six people and destroying four apartments, regional governor Natalia Zabolotna said. One of the injured was hospitalized. A private care home for elderly residents was also damaged, and 15 residents were evacuated.
Kharkiv: firefighters hit in repeat strike
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, drones struck an Epicentr home-improvement store in the Osnovianskyi district and a business in the Industrialnyi district, the State Emergency Service said. A second strike on the same site injured two firefighters and destroyed a fire-engine tanker. A third firefighter was hurt while fighting the blaze. Separately, Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported one person killed and four injured in the Novobavarskyi district.
Epicentr, one of Ukraine’s largest retail chains, said its stores in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia and Poltava had been hit in less than 24 hours. Company spokesperson Yuliia Chudnovets told Interfax-Ukraine that one person was injured in Poltava. The company described the strikes as an effort aimed at “the total destruction of the chain.”
In Sumy Oblast, a strike on a farm in the Konotop district killed one woman and injured four people, regional authorities said.
Ukrainian drones hit Belgorod and Omsk
Ukraine carried out its own long-range strikes inside Russia over the same period. In the Russian border city of Belgorod, officials reported what they called a “massive UAV attack.” Russian authorities said one civilian was killed and 14 were injured, and that at least 30 apartment buildings and 35 vehicles were damaged. Those figures come from Russian officials and could not be independently verified. The monitoring channel Exilenova-Plus said the target was the MegaGRINN shopping complex, the city’s largest mall, which was closed at the time.
Roughly 2,500 kilometers (about 1,550 miles) from the front, drones hit the Omsky Kauchuk chemical plant in Siberia’s Omsk Oblast on Saturday, starting a fire. Governor Vitaly Khotsenko confirmed the attack. Ukraine’s General Staff separately said its forces hit Russian radar sites near Gostishchevo and Kurgannoye in Belgorod Oblast. It also claimed strikes on command posts near Tarasivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Hola Prystan in Kherson Oblast. Those claims could not be independently confirmed.
Key numbers (Ukrainian official figures)
153 drones launched overnight, 119 downed or jammed · 8 killed and 51 injured nationwide in 24 hours · about 1,600 guided bombs, 48 missiles and 2,300 drones fired this week
Diplomacy on hold until November
The strikes came as the Kremlin signaled no movement on talks before next month. “The next deadline is now Nov. 4, our major holiday. After that, we will be ready to resume negotiations,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said, according to the Kyiv Independent, referring to three-way talks with Ukraine and the United States. Nov. 4 is Russia’s National Unity Day.
Zelensky has made air defense his main request to Western partners. On Saturday he also confirmed that Starlink satellite service for Ukrainian forces had been restored to full speed after weeks of restrictions; that dispute is covered separately. For earlier coverage of the front lines and the Patriot request, see our report on Zelensky’s front-line update and the Oleshky ceasefire report. Running casualty and equipment figures are on The Boston Report’s Russia-Ukraine War Stats page, and wider coverage is on our Warfare and Geopolitics hubs.
Sources
- Ukrainska Pravda: Air Force figures on the overnight attack
- Ukrainska Pravda: Zelensky on the week’s strikes and Patriots
- Kyiv Independent: Russian attacks kill 8, injure 51
- Ukrainska Pravda: Synelnykove death toll
- Ukrainska Pravda: Vinnytsia strike
- Ukrainska Pravda: Kharkiv firefighters injured
- Ukrainska Pravda / Interfax-Ukraine: Epicentr stores hit
Additional sources
- Ukrainska Pravda: Kharkiv mayor on casualties
- Ukrainska Pravda: Sumy Oblast farm strike
- Kyiv Independent: Drone attack on Belgorod
- Ukrainska Pravda: Omsk chemical plant strike
- Ukrainska Pravda: General Staff strike claims
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