Russian drones hit an apartment building in Kyiv damages injuring 6 people

Overnight on Oct. 29, Russian drones attacked Kyiv, injuring six people and causing extensive damage in the Solomyanskyi district, where debris struck a nine-story apartment building, rupturing a gas line and igniting fires that spread to nearby vehicles and a shop. Emergency services shut off the gas supply and evacuated 15 people from the area. One individual sustained a serious leg injury and was hospitalized.

Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, noted that this was the 18th aerial attack on Kyiv in October alone. In the Sviatoshynskyi district, debris from another drone strike shattered windows in a three-story administrative building. Russia’s aerial assaults have escalated against Ukraine’s urban centers, with simultaneous strikes on Kharkiv and Kryvyi Rih injuring more than 20 people and claiming lives.

This wave of attacks follows an Oct. 25 drone strike in Kyiv that tragically killed a teenage girl in a multi-story building. The continued bombardment underscores Russia's intensified campaign against Ukraine’s densely populated areas, bringing widespread destruction and civilian casualties.

Russians hit Kharkiv with a hybrid missile

On the night of Oct. 28-29, Kharkiv was struck by a Russian Grom-E1 hybrid missile, causing significant destruction and casualties. The attack, reported by Mayor Ihor Terekhov, targeted the Osnovianskyi district around 2:51 a.m., where a residential area sustained extensive damage. Four houses were completely destroyed, 19 others damaged, and four people tragically lost their lives. Emergency responders spent hours locating the victims under the rubble.

The missile strike injured nine people, including a police officer and two staff members at the regional hospital. Additionally, surrounding infrastructure, including apartment buildings, a restaurant, and the regional hospital, suffered damage.

The Russians have intensified their assault on Kharkiv, focusing on residential areas and historical landmarks. Earlier, around 9:00 p.m. on Oct. 28, Russian forces conducted an airstrike on the Derzhprom building in Kharkiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district. This iconic national heritage site, temporarily under UNESCO protection, sustained damage to one of its entrances. The Derzhprom building, an architectural landmark and historical symbol of Kharkiv, houses several governmental offices

Zelenskyy requested Tomahawk missiles from the US as a disclosed part of the Victory Plan

According to recent reports by The New York Times, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has privately requested Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States as part of a comprehensive non-nuclear deterrence package in his "Victory Plan." These missiles, with a range of over 1,500 kilometers, would offer significantly longer reach than the ATACMS missiles recently supplied to Ukraine.

However, a senior U.S. official described this request as "totally unfeasible," citing the limited availability of such missiles in light of other U.S. strategic commitments, including potential escalations in the Middle East and Asia. The request also reportedly included a list of targets within Russian territory, far exceeding what the U.S. could feasibly support. After a meeting with President Biden in September, Zelenskyy was reportedly taken aback by the firm refusal to permit Ukraine unrestricted use of long-range weaponry against Russia.

Despite continued discussions, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reaffirmed last week that the White House’s policy regarding long-range strikes has not changed. Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned that any Western approval for Ukraine to conduct deep strikes within Russian territory would be viewed as direct NATO involvement in the conflict, and he has indicated that Russia is considering possible response options.

Trump's reported plan to freeze the war in Ukraine is unrealistic - Ukrainian lawmaker

A plan reportedly being considered by Donald Trump to freeze Russia's full-scale invasion if he becomes president is "unrealistic," a Ukrainian lawmaker said on Oct. 29.

Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of the parliament's foreign affairs policy, noted that upon taking office, Trump would soon have to "face reality," and any such plan would fail in light of political realities.

"This plan doesn’t look realistic because it implies the agreement of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, who is absolutely unreliable and not trustworthy when it comes to observing any agreements," he said.

"At the same time, Putin, as of now, is not interested in negotiations and agreements. He still believes that he can win."

Trump has claimed he would end Russia's war within "24 hours" without elaborating on how he plans to achieve it. Some reports and statements from Trump's inner circle indicate this might entail pressuring Ukraine to cede territory or give up on its NATO aspirations.

Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, in September, outlined the idea of freezing the war by establishing autonomous regions on both sides of the demilitarized zone and leaving Ukraine outside NATO, according to a report in the Financial Times (FT) on Oct. 28.

According to one of Trump's longtime advisors, the new plan would rethink the failed Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015, which were never implemented. The agreements contained a plan that would create autonomous zones in Russian-occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Occupied Crimea was not mentioned in the Minsk Agreement.

The new plan will include enforcement mechanisms and consequences for violating the agreement, the adviser said. But, in his opinion, European troops, not NATO forces or U.N. peacekeepers, will have to keep order.

Merezhko, a member of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People Party, said the "only solution" to ending the war is to "strengthen Ukraine and thereby force Putin to sit at the table of negotiations."

160,000 people planned to be drafted into Ukrainian forces

An additional 160,000 people will be drafted into Ukraine's armed forces, which will increase unit manning levels to 85%, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko reported on Oct. 29 during a parliamentary session.

In mid-April, Ukraine's parliament passed an updated mobilization law to enhance recruitment efforts amidst the ongoing conflict. The law streamlines the process of identifying eligible conscripts and introduces tougher penalties for draft evasion.

Since martial law was declared, over 1 million citizens have been drafted into military service. Ukraine faces challenges in mobilizing sufficient troops to replenish front-line forces, address combat casualties, and enable rotation of long-serving soldiers.

Following the law's enactment on May 18, military-aged men had 60 days to update their personal information, enabling the state to track them more efficiently. From May 18 to July 16, nearly 4.7 million men of military age updated their data, meeting the July 17 deadline, according to the Defense Ministry.

The ministry reported in mid-August that close to a million people were eligible for exemption. In early April, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal directed ministries to implement "fairer" criteria for exempting employees of essential companies. On Oct. 26, the Cabinet of Ministers announced that workers in strategically important sectors could continue extending their conscription exemptions.