Ukraine launched an unprecedented 1,200-drone assault deep into Russian territory overnight, triggering an emergency lockdown across 19 regions and grounding hundreds of commercial flights, while retaliatory Russian strikes killed a worker in Kharkiv and injured several others.
Air defences opened fire as sirens sounded in Moscow, forcing passenger jets to turn back mid-air. The assault, described as the largest drone raid of the war to date, stretched from the edge of the capital to a key military chemical plant 800 miles away in Bashkortostan.
Deadly Strikes on Both Sides
The chaos turned deadly on both sides of the border. A Russian drone strike hit a postal depot in Kharkiv, killing a 38-year-old worker and injuring four others. Ukrainian forces shot down two Kalibr cruise missiles, each valued at £3 million, with a single US-made Hawk strike.
In Kharkiv, a Russian drone attack on October 28 hit a postal facility in the Osnovianskyi district, killing a 38-year-old man and injuring four others. The weapon used is believed to be a Geran-3 jet-powered attack drone. Additional strikes affected the Kholodnohirskyi and Saltivskyi districts, damaging an educational facility and sparking fires across parts of the city.
NATO on Alert
With skies ablaze across the region, German Bundeswehr electronic warfare teams scrambled in Lithuania for snap NATO drills, putting border defences on high alert.
At least five people were injured, including one child, during the overnight drone attack in Kharkiv, according to the State Emergency Service report. Rescue crews were pictured working at the site of a Russian strike in a residential area.
In Sloviansk, Ukrainian firefighters attempted to put out a fire in a historic building dating from 1953 following a Russian air strike on October 28.
