Russian missiles hit Kyiv, one killed; Ukraine claims two Su-34 jets destroyed

Missile attack on Kyiv

On the evening of 29 October, Russia again fired ballistic missiles at Kyiv, according to the city's military administration and Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The military administration reported one person killed on Telegram, but the exact location of the death was not specified. Klitschko wrote on Telegram that there were explosions in the capital, that the city was under missile attack and that residents should stay in shelters. Just before the strike, more than half a dozen explosions had been heard across the city.

Fragments of a missile fell into the courtyard of a residential complex in the Dnipro district and set it on fire. In another area, the blast wave shattered the windows of a residential building. A warehouse in the Darnytsia district was hit and caught fire. Zelensky had warned in a video address that Russia was preparing another ballistic missile attack, citing intelligence, and renewed his appeal to Western partners for more air defence weapons, especially Patriot systems. Ukraine has been resisting a large-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.

Claimed strikes on Russian aircraft and airfields

Zelensky said two Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers were destroyed on the ground in a missile attack, and that a launch ramp for Iskander missiles was damaged in another strike. Die Welt reported that the Su-34 is used to drop glide bombs from long range. The Ukrainian navy said Neptune missiles had hit the Marinovka airfield in Russia's Volgograd region, more than 450 kilometres from Ukrainian-controlled territory. Die Welt noted that this would be the second successful Ukrainian missile strike on a Russian military airfield in October. The Russian military did not comment on the claims. Pro-military Russian bloggers indirectly confirmed the loss, with one of them voicing hope that front-line air units would be pulled back further before nothing remained to withdraw.

Drone attack on a Dnipro railway station

Separately, regional authorities said a Russian drone attack on a railway station in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro killed 13 people and injured at least ten. The figures were given as the attack's toll and were not tied to the Kyiv strikes in the reporting. No further details on the victims were provided in the sources.

Welder killed at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

A welder at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was killed in a drone attack, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which said the victim worked at the plant's central repair workshop. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi renewed his call for military restraint around the plant. The agency did not say who was responsible. Tass, citing a statement on Telegram from the plant's operator, reported that the welder was riding an electric scooter to work when the drone struck, and it attributed the attack to Ukrainian armed forces. Those attribution claims come from the Russian side and were not confirmed by the IAEA in the reporting.