Russian Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation is the federal executive body responsible for military policy and the administration of the Russian Armed Forces. It is led by the Minister of Defence and is headquartered in Moscow.
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Russian glide bombs strike Zaporizhzhia residential building; at least 20 killed, including children
On the morning of 10 October, Russian forces struck the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with five KAB guided aerial bombs, hitting residential buildings. Casualty figures evolved over the day as rescue operations continued: by Sunday, Ukrainian officials reported at least 20 people killed, including three children, with 18 to 32 injured. President Volodymyr Zelensky linked the attack to a recent US-Russia deal on Russian diesel exports, calling it Moscow's "thank-you" for the lifting of sanctions. Zaporizhzhia declared 11 October a day of mourning.
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German Chancellor Merz makes surprise Kyiv visit, announces €1.3+ billion support package and 15 bilateral agreements
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv by special train on 4 October for an unannounced solidarity visit, accompanied by Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and roughly ten business leaders from the defence and energy sectors. He and President Volodymyr Zelensky honoured fallen Ukrainian defenders at the memorial on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, visited the National Academy of Sciences building hit by a Russian drone on 28 September, and announced a new German support package worth more than €1.3 billion alongside 15 bilateral agreements valued at over €8.5 billion. Merz called on Vladimir Putin to stop the war and announced that Germany, France and the UK would host a Coalition of the Willing meeting in Berlin in winter.
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Russia launches massive combined missile and drone strike on Kyiv overnight, killing civilians including a child
In the night of 29–30 September 2026, Russia carried out a large-scale combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine with the main strike direction targeting Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast. Ukrainian air defense reported intercepting 5 ballistic missiles and 155 of 188 launched drones. Two women were killed in Kyiv and a child died in Vyshhorod, where rescuers pulled three survivors from the rubble of a destroyed house. Fires and damage were recorded in four Kyiv districts and across multiple Kyiv Oblast districts, and 8,000 Kyiv households lost power before DTEK restored supply.
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Ukrainian drone strike halts Moscow oil refinery on day of State Duma vote
On the night of 20 September, Ukrainian forces struck the Gazpromneft-Moscow refinery in the Kapotnya district of Moscow with a combined drone and missile attack, setting both primary crude distillation units ablaze and forcing a full halt of oil processing. Ukraine's General Staff says cumulative strikes have now knocked out more than 45% of Russia's designed oil refining capacity. The attack fell on the day of Russia's State Duma election, with Moscow authorities not activating air raid sirens or SMS warnings, an omission analysts at the Institute for the Study of War linked to a priority on voter turnout over civilian safety.