Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv killed two and injured 12

Russia launched another overnight attack on Kyiv on October 25, targeting the capital with ballistic missiles, according to Ukrainian officials. Explosions were heard around 4 a.m. local time.

At least two people were killed and 12 were injured, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported. One of the injured later died in the hospital, Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko confirmed.

Tkachenko said Russia struck “civilian and residential infrastructure” with ballistic missiles, calling the attack “pure terror.”

The assault followed a massive October 22 strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that killed six people and injured 44. Moscow has recently intensified attacks on the energy grid ahead of winter, prompting nationwide blackouts.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched nine Iskander-M missiles and 62 Shahed-type drones overnight. Air defenses shot down four missiles and 50 drones, but several projectiles hit targets in the city.

Fires broke out across the left bank of Kyiv, particularly in the Darnytskyi, Desnianskyi, and Dniprovskyi districts. Non-residential buildings were set ablaze, while residential areas and a kindergarten sustained damage.

Emergency services deployed aviation and robotic systems to contain the fires, which have since been localized.

Russians attempted to attack a passenger train near Kramatorsk

Russian forces attempted to strike a passenger train near Kramatorsk station, Ukraine’s state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian National Railway company) reported.

The attack targeted a train, which was traveling from Lviv to Kramatorsk. Although the drone missed its target, the blast wave shattered windows in three carriages. No passengers were injured.

Ukrzaliznytsia said the damaged cars were promptly replaced, and the train departed on schedule for its return journey.

Russia struck a power facility in Kharkiv Oblast

Russian forces attacked an energy facility in the Chuhuiv district of Kharkiv Oblast, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

Syniehubov added that Russian attacks also hit the city of Lozova, leaving around 25,000 consumers without power.

“In both cases, early reports indicate that there have been no casualties. Repair works are ongoing,” the governor said.

Russia sentenced the 21-year-old admin of the Telegram channel to 14 years in prison

A Russian military court in Rostov-on-Don has sentenced 21-year-old Ukrainian journalist Yana Suvorova to 14 years in prison for running a pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel, Melitopol is Ukraine, in the occupied city of Melitopol.

Suvorova was detained on August 20, 2023, along with six other journalists and administrators from the local outlet RIA Melitopol. After her arrest, she was held in the Mariupol detention center before being transferred to Russia’s Taganrog Detention Center No. 2, notorious for the use of torture against prisoners.

According to her boyfriend, Oleksandr Nykolaenko, Suvorova had no political background before the war and initially created the Telegram chat to help residents find medicine and food amid shortages in occupied Melitopol.

Russian authorities accused her of “terrorism,” “espionage,” and “organizing a terrorist group,” claiming she collected information on Russian military positions.

“Yana Suvorova was sentenced by Russia in an unfair trial to 14 years in prison for simply doing her job as a journalist,” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement, demanding her immediate release.

Melitopol has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Other journalists from the same region have faced similar persecution — in September, two administrators of Melitopol Telegram channels were sentenced to 15 and 16 years in prison by Russian-controlled courts.

Suvorova’s letters from prison, shared by Nykolaenko, reveal that she is in a difficult psychological state and fears further transfer deeper into Russia.

Her case highlights Russia’s ongoing repression of Ukrainian journalists in occupied territories. Since the full-scale invasion began, at least 30 Ukrainian journalists remain in Russian captivity, according to the Institute of Mass Information (IMI).