A drone operator of Brigade 28th of Ukrainian Army watches a drone landing as he scouts for enemy positions in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, Oct. 3, 2023. (Narciso Contreras/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Russian forces intercepted and shot down 28 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Belgorod and Kursk oblasts, and Black Sea region, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on Oct. 18.
Kursk and Belgorod oblasts border Ukraine’s Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk oblasts.
Kursk Governor Roman Starovoyt said that 10 drones were downed over the region at around 5 a.m. local time.
In Belgorod Oblast, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that six drones were shot down at around 4 a.m. local time.
On Oct. 15, Ukrainian drone attacks on an energy facility in Russia’s Belgorod region caused blackouts in the area.
In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur reports on another Trump–Zelensky meeting in Washington, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intervention to dissuade the U.S. from supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles.
Ukrainian soldier and chess grandmaster Ihor Kovalenko won the individual gold medal at the European Team Chess Championships, The Guardian reported on October 18, citing tournament organizers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that Ukraine hand over full control of Donetsk Oblast to Russia as a condition for ending the war during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump this week, The Washington Post reported on Oct. 18, citing two senior U.S. officials.
Vienna had previously held up the sanctions over a demand that the EU compensate Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International for losses inflicted by Russian penalties.
An electrical substation in Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast is in flames following a reported Ukrainian drone strike, Russian Telegram media channels reported on Oct. 18.
Daria Shulzhenko
