Ukraine war latest live: HUR strikes next-gen Russian radar system in Crimea with long-range drones
Hi, this is Kollen Post, reporting from Kyiv on day 1,335 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Today's top story:
On Oct. 20, Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) published a video of a drone strike on one of Russia's top-of-the-line anti-UAV radar systems which guarded occupied Crimea.
HUR identifies the scene, set in thermal-vision, as the air field in Jankoy. The video shows the drone's last moments before presumably flying into what they call "the Muscovite-disguised top-dollar radiolocation system."
"The demilitarization of Crimea continues!" HUR wrote.
European officials considering new means of reining in Kremlin fossil fuel exports.
Last updated 5:46 pm Kyiv time.
A new draft proposal in the European Union's diplomatic service seen by the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 20 aims to give European officials greater rights to board and examine vessels considered part of Russia's "shadow fleet."
Russia's oil and gas exports are key to its economy and, by extension, ability to wage war against Ukraine. Despite widespread sanctions on their export, Russia continues to profit from fossil fuel sales. This is in no small part due to a flotilla of vessels and ports of call willing to disguise the origins of Russian oil and gas.
Meanwhile, Europe continues to import significant portions of its own fossil fuels from Russia even as the war rages on. New rulemaking at the Council of Europe aims to phase those remaining shipments out – but not before 2028.
Ukraine prepping for new Patriots?
Last updated: 4:53 pm Kyiv time.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is preparing long-term contracts for 25 Patriot systems following a recent whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C.
"We arranged discussions with defense companies regarding air defense systems, and we are preparing a contract for 25 Patriot systems," Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv on October 20.
Patriot missiles are currently the best defense available to Ukraine against Russian ballistic missiles such as Kinzhals and Iskanders.
The total number of functional Patriot systems in Ukraine is difficult to nail down, but best estimates have the number at around eight, meaning the new claimed contracts could potentially quadruple Ukraine's Patriot arsenal. Ukraine, meanwhile, is currently facing shortages of PAC-3 interceptors – the variety best suited for ballistic missile defense – for the Patriot systems it already has.
Russia strikes coal preparation plant in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Last updated 4:24 pm Kyiv time.
A coal preparation plant in the western Donbas fell under the morning's Russian air attacks, Ukrainian energy giant DTEK wrote on Telegram.
The firm said there were no casualties, but that "this is already the enemy's sixth wide-scale strike on DTEK's coal enterprises over the past two months."
Zelensky says Ukraine has secured 'significant portion' of funding for more natural gas
Last updated 4:07 pm Kyiv time.
Following a wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy sector, President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X about the government's work to keep the lights on in Ukraine.
Zelensky alluded to increasing long-range strikes on Russia, and further hinted that Ukraine has gotten funding to import more natural gas: "Significant portion of the financial generation has already been secured," he wrote.
I held a Staff meeting. Most of the agenda focused on the energy sector. First and foremost, we discussed the situation in the regions and communities, the existing challenges in the border and frontline areas. The closer the positions of the Russian army, the greater the…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 20, 2025
General who quit after missile attack on bootcamp is back at head of Kharkiv command
Last updated 3:46 pm Kyiv time.
Major General Mykhaylo Drapatyi has been appointed as the head of the "Joint Forces Formation," a newly reformation of Operational Command "Khortytsia."
The Joint Forces Task Force announced Drapatyi's appointment on Telegram. Drapatyi was a popular leader of Ukraine's Ground Forces until a series of deadly Russian ballistic missile attacks on training centers for new recruits under his command led him to resign in June. He is, it seems, back in action.
Kremlin says demand for whole of Donbas 'doesn't change'
Last updated 3:28 pm Kyiv time.
Moscow's position regarding the possibility of pausing hostilities along the current front lines in Ukraine has not changed, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Oct. 20 when asked about proposals put forward by the U.S.
Russia has previously rejected freezing the war along the current front lines while reportedly demanding that Ukraine cede the entire Donetsk Oblast.
Two dead, eight injured in Russia’s overnight attacks on Ukrainian civilians
Russian air attacks using ballistic missiles, drones and glide bombs hit residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Kherson, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv Oblasts last night, according to local authorities. Artillery strikes also hit villages in Kherson Oblast, killing one person and injuring three others.
Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, reported one dead and five injured, including one child, following attacks involving four Russian drones and four glide bombs on six municipalities in Kharkiv Oblast.
Additional strikes hit energy infrastructure in Chernihiv Oblast, per Viacheslav Chaus, the head of the oblast’s military administration.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that the attacks included three Iskander ballistic missiles and a total of 60 drones, including Shaheds and Gerberas. Thirty-eight drones were shot down, and two went missing. Twenty drones hit targets, as did all three ballistic missiles, at 12 different locations, they explained.
192 evacuated from coal mine after Russian strike
On the night of October 19, Ukrainian energy giant DTEK managed to evacuate all 192 coal miners who'd been stuck underground after a Russian strike.
The strike targeted the Western Donbas Mine located in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. It was the fourth of its kind on a DTEK coal facility in the past two months, as winter sets in and Russia targets Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Footage published this morning shows a drone striking a substation nearby.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,127,300 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost around 1,131,070 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. 20.
The number includes 890 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day. According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,270 tanks, 23,399 armored fighting vehicles, 64,892 vehicles and fuel tanks, 33,879 artillery systems, 1,524 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,229 air defense systems, 428 airplanes, 346 helicopters, 72,365 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
