Ukraine war latest: Kharkiv devastated by Russian glide bombs, children among victims

Key developments on Oct. 5:

• Children among dozens injured as Russian glide bombs hit Kharkiv, 5 dead
• New automatic gun turrets successfully down first Russian jet-powered drones, Air Force says
• Russian drones strike cargo ship in Black Sea, kill captain, Zelensky says
• Ukrainian pilots to soon start training on French Rafale jets, Zelensky says
• Estonia moves troops closer to Russian border amid shift in strategic thinking

At least five people have been killed, and 53 others, including children, injured after Russian forces struck Kharkiv with glide bombs on Oct. 5.

"The enemy attacked Kharkiv with at least three glide bombs (KABs), with strikes recorded in the Slobidskyi district," Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post on Telegram.

"As a result of the strikes… warehouse buildings are on fire, and residential buildings have been damaged. There may be people under the rubble of a residential building that was hit in the attack. A search and rescue operation is underway," he added.

Russian glide bombs, often called KABs (Kerovana Aviabomba) in Ukraine, are repurposed aerial bombs equipped with wings and precision guidance systems such as GPS, laser, or infrared targeting.

New automatic gun turrets successfully down first Russian jet-powered drones, Air Force says

Automated machine gun turrets using artificial intelligence to aim have downed their first Russian jet-powered drones over Ukraine, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on Oct. 5.

A day prior, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that twelve such turrets had been installed where Russian jet-powered drones have been particularly active, including around Kyiv.

"There are already cases of shooting down even jet UAVs, even 'Geran-5' from the those very turrets," Ihnat said on national television.

"The use of innovative technologies — artificial intelligence — has eliminated human error. Machine vision is used in the shooting down. Artificial intelligence allows you to target even jet-powered drones."

Since Russia started using jet-powered drones en masse against Kyiv toward the end of summer this year, they, especially the Geran-4 and Geran-5 models, have presented an air defense problem for which Ukraine has not yet found a single solution.

Russian drones strike cargo ship in Black Sea, kill captain, Zelensky says

A cargo ship caught fire in the Black Sea off the Romanian coast on Oct. 5 after a Russian drone strike, killing two, injuring at least 11 more, and prompting a large search-and-rescue operation.

After Romanian media and authorities initially reported a fire on the grain ship Royad Mammadov, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that a civilian ship was attacked by two Russian drones, adding that it was a Turkish-owned ship transporting corn.

According to Zelensky, the ship was crewed by citizens of Azerbaijan and India. While the Russian strike killed the vessel's captain, Zelensky said. Romania's interior ministry said that two people were killed in the attack.

At the time of the attack, the ship was sailing outside Romania's territorial waters but within the country's exclusive economic zone, about 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) from the Romanian coast and roughly 9 nautical miles (16.6 kilometers) southeast of the Pescarus offshore oil platform operated by OMV Petrom, according to Romanian media outlet Digi24.ro. First reports had placed the incident near the Neptun Deep gas development.

Estonia moves troops closer to Russian border amid shift in strategic thinking

Estonia's 1st Brigade, the main combat-ready element of the country's land forces, will be moving to a newly expanded base less than 50 kilometers from the Russian border, placed to better meet a possible Russian attack.

The move, revealed in comments by the unit's commander, Tarmo Kundla, published in the Financial Times on Oct. 5, comes amid increased awareness of Russian military designs on the Baltic country.

The 1st Brigade will relocate from its previous base in Tapa to the town of Johvi, just west of the city of Narva on the Russian border.

Narva is often seen as a potential flashpoint of hybrid or kinetic attacks not only due to its location, but because the majority of its population is Russian-speaking, a common tool of Russian propaganda to justify aggression.

According to Kundla, the brigade's move is connected to a shift in strategic thinking for the Estonian military, which relies on the airpower of NATO forces based in the region — as well as on the deterrent of the alliance's Article 5 — to protect against an attack from its much larger neighbor.

Ukrainian pilots to soon start training on French Rafale jets, Zelensky says

President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed further European assistance in phone calls with the French and Polish leaders on Oct. 5, as Ukraine braces for a new wave of Russian attacks while U.S.-led peace talks fail to make headway.

Zelensky revealed after his call with French President Emmanuel Macron that France is preparing fresh defense assistance for Ukraine amid relentless Russian strikes, with a new support package expected "soon."

"Ukrainian pilots will soon begin training on French Rafale aircraft in France. This is a significant step forward for Ukraine's combat aviation," he added.

Kyiv announced in 2025 that it aims to purchase 100 Rafale jets to bolster its growing fleet of Western-made aircraft. The Rafale is a 4.5-generation multirole fighter, considered one of the most advanced among European jets.

France is Ukraine's staunch ally in its war against Russian aggression and has provided Kyiv with long-range missiles and intelligence support, among other assistance.

Zelensky said that both sides are also "continuing to work on localizing the production of French missiles and aerial bombs in Ukraine."