Ukraine war latest: France announces more Mirage fighter jets, Tomahawk negotiations still ongoing, Starmer says
Hi, this is Jared Goyette reporting from a foggy Kyiv on day 1,339 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Today's top story so far:
French President Emmanuel Macron on Oct. 24 announced that his country would provide Ukraine with "additional Aster missiles, new training programs, and new Mirage" fighter jets in the coming days, without providing further details.
The Aster is a surface-to-air missile used in the SAMP/T air defenses. France has previously supplied Ukraine with the air defense system, as well as several Mirage 2000 fighter jets.
"We need to continue to step up our military support to Ukraine — air defense capacities, long-range capabilities, drones, and anti-drone systems," Macron said.
France and the U.K. have previously provided Ukraine with SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles, most recently used to strike a Russian chemical plant in Bryansk on Oct. 21.
The announcement came as President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders met in London on Oct. 24 for a summit of the "Coalition of the Willing," a European-led initiative launched by the U.K. and France.
The Ukrainian president's visit follows a tense Oct. 17 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, during which Kyiv failed to secure a deal for the acquisition of Tomahawk cruise missiles.
But U.K. Prime Minster Kier Starmer said that negotations over Tomahawks were still ongoing.
"We are still working on it," he said.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
Over $200M in Russian air defenses destroyed — two Nebo radars, Buk unit, HUR says
Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) said on Oct. 24 that it had destroyed three Russian air defense systems worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
HUR said in a Telegram post that video from a special forces operation shows the destruction via drones of two Russian Nebo radars (valued at about $100 million each) and a firing unit from a Buk SAM system (the system as a whole is worth at least $10 million and possibly more, depending on the model).
HUR says the systems were struck in the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Kherson Oblast, and Crimea.
The Nebo-U system was reportedly capable of monitoring the sky up to 700 kilometers into Ukraine, which helped Russian troops detect Ukrainian weapons and supported fighter jets dropping guided aerial bombs.
The Soviet-era Buk-M1 surface-to-air missile systems have been used by both Ukrainians and Russians in this war. Last year, Ukraine announced it had converted the systems to shoot U.S.-made missiles
Russia hits Kharkiv with glide bombs, artillery, drones kill 3 in Kherson
Kherson on Oct. 24 came under intense Russian artillery bombardment, with what appeared to be the random targeting of residential areas killing at least two people.
Videos posted to social media — some reportedly by Russian forces themselves — showed multiple explosions across a vast area of the city.
Valentyna Fedorchuk, a Kherson-based journalist, told the Kyiv Independent that despite areas of the city being "constantly under attack from artillery and drones," the bombing on Oct. 24 was notable for its intensity.
"The last time we experienced such terrible strikes was probably when the occupiers used KABs to hit the bridge connecting the Ostriv microdistrict — there were several hellish nights for the locals then," she said.
Kateryna Hodunova
Man detonates grenade on train platform in Zhytomyr Oblast, kills 4, including himself
Last updated 3:15 p.m Kyiv time
A man detonated a grenade on a train platform in the city of Ovruch, Zhytomyr Oblast, on Oct. 24, killing himself and three others, and injuring 12, the National Police reported.
The attacker, identified as a 23-year-old resident of Kharkiv, triggered the grenade at around 10:50 a.m. local time on the train platform as State Border Guard officers were checking passengers' documents.
The three women killed were aged 29, 58, and 82.
The man had recently been detained for attempting to cross the state border in western Ukraine, according to the police.
'Russians hunting Ukrainian farmers' in intercepted drone footage, Azov says
Last updated 2:38 p.m. Kyiv time
The Ukrainian military on Oct. 23 released footage of what it says is a Russian first-person-view (FPV) drone "hunting Ukrainian farmers" in Donetsk Oblast.
Posted on Facebook by the 12th Brigade Azov, the video clearly shows at least four men in a field abandoning agricultural equipment and running from the drone.
"The interception from an enemy FPV drone shows how Russian operators staged a 'safari' of civilian farmers," the post reads.
Chris York
Ukrainian drones target Moscow, building damaged in oblast, Russian authorities claim
Last updated 7:04 a.m. Kyiv time.
An overnight drone attack hit a residential building in the city of Krasnogorsk in Moscow Oblast, injuring five people, including a child, regional governor Andrey Vorobyov claimed on Oct. 24.
A drone flew into an apartment on the 14th floor of the building at around 4 a.m. local time, Vorobyov said in his Telegram post. Four victims were hospitalized, including the child who suffered a dislocated knee and minor shin injuries, he added.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed in his Telegram post that the Russian air defense had shot down three drones flying toward the capital. He said that the emergency service workers are working at locations where the debris fell.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed in the morning that it had shot down 111 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 34 flying over Rostov Oblast bordering Ukraine to the west. It only reported one drone being shot down over Moscow Oblast, contrary to the mayor's claim.
In Rostov Oblast, about 1,500 people are left without electricity after the drone attack, regional governor Yuriy Slyusar claimed in his Telegram post at 6 a.m. local time.
Volodymyr Ivanyshyn
At least 4 killed, 17 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day
At least three people have been killed and 69 others injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities reported on Oct. 23.
Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 72 out of the 128 Shahed-type attack drones and other drones launched by Russia overnight, according to the Air Force. Forty-seven strikes were recorded at 10 locations.
In Kherson Oblast, two people were killed and nine others injured due to Russian strikes, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
In Sumy Oblast, a 53-year-old man was injured as a result of an first-person-view (FPV) drone strike.local authorities reported.
In Donetsk Oblast, Russian attacks killed two people and injured seven others, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.
The two killed were Freedom TV journalist Olena Hramova and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin. Their colleague, Special Correspondent Oleksandr Kolychev, was injured in the attack and has been hospitalized.
Hramova, Karmazin, and Kolychev had reportedly been on assignment in the region when a Russian Lancet kamikaze drone struck the vehicle they were traveling in.
“Russia continues to target journalists who are documenting its war against Ukraine — killing them and wounding them,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, condemning the attack.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,135,080 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost around 1,134,170 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Oct. 24.
The number includes 910 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,283 tanks, 23,458 armored fighting vehicles, 65,356 vehicles and fuel tanks, 33,972 artillery systems, 1,526 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,230 air defense systems, 427 airplanes, 346 helicopters, 73,826 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
