Yurii Ihnat
Yuriy Ihnat is a Ukrainian military officer, a colonel in the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He became widely known as the official spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force, regularly commenting in the media on air defence, aviation and drone operations during Russia's full-scale invasion. He was subsequently appointed commander of Ukraine's 'small' air defence forces.
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Zelensky and Rubio hold 45-minute call on missile interceptors, early warning and Starlink/Starshield
On October 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a roughly 45-minute phone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio covering three main topics: ballistic missile interceptors for Ukraine, early warning about Russian ballistic attacks, and the situation around Starlink and Starshield satellite services. Zelensky described the talks as substantive and constructive, while Rubio, speaking to journalists during a visit to India, said US policy toward Ukraine and intelligence sharing remain unchanged and attributed recent warning failures to a technical problem under investigation.
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Russian ballistic strike on Kyiv destroys Datagroup data centre, damages hospital and mall
A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on the night of 19 October completely destroyed the equipment and infrastructure of the Datagroup data centre, which the company says cannot be restored. The same wave of strikes damaged a hospital diagnostic centre, the Cosmo Multimall shopping centre, an Accounting Chamber building, metro infrastructure and residential buildings across three city districts. The State Emergency Service reported at least one killed and ten injured nationwide. Ukrainian officials framed the data-centre strikes as an attempt to disrupt air-raid warning systems, and President Zelensky said partners again failed to provide advance warning of the ballistic launch.
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US delays Patriot missile transfers to Ukraine as Kyiv reports acute interceptor shortage during Russian attacks
President Zelensky says US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not approved a significant batch of Patriot interceptor missiles that allies are ready to transfer to Ukraine, despite Kyiv's partners having already paid for them. Ukraine is receiving only about 12 Patriot interceptors per month, roughly a quarter of the rate under the Biden administration, while a reported ammunition shortage leaves the country exposed to repeated Russian ballistic strikes. Hegseth has not formally rejected the transfers but has not signed the necessary approvals, and a US government representative called the political-delay claims "false."
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Zelensky says Ukraine will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries after US-requested pause
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with the Financial Times that Ukraine is lifting its moratorium on strikes against Russian oil refineries. He said Ukraine had paused strikes on Russian energy infrastructure for three days at the request of the United States, but that during the pause Russia continued attacking Ukrainian energy, the United States did not provide advance warning of Russian ballistic strikes on Kyiv, and SpaceX restricted Starshield terminals to a 160 km/h speed threshold. Zelensky said he could agree to stop again only in exchange for additional Patriot interceptors.
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Zelensky confirms US warned it could halt intelligence sharing if Ukraine keeps striking Russian oil refineries
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in an NPR interview that the Trump administration warned Ukraine it could stop sharing intelligence if Ukrainian forces continued to attack Russian oil refineries. Zelensky said the warning was conveyed to his generals, not to him personally, and that as of the interview the exchange had not actually been halted. The warning comes as Kyiv was hit by ballistic missiles on the evenings of October 12 and 13 without advance US warning, and SpaceX imposed speed-based restrictions on Starlink and Starshield terminals used by the Ukrainian military. Trump publicly denied that intelligence sharing had been stopped.
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Russia hits Kyiv energy grid with 39 ballistic missiles and 128 drones, knocking out power for 600,000
Russia launched a massive combined strike on Ukraine overnight on 13–14 October, using 39 ballistic missiles and 128 strike drones against energy and critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast and Kharkiv. President Zelensky said at least 600,000 people were left without electricity and that the main target of the Kyiv attack was the TEC-4 combined heat and power plant, which sustained direct hits. Three people were killed in Kyiv, more than 20 were injured, and the attack came days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine.
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Russia launches 205 drones at Ukraine overnight; AI-guided turrets score first jet-drone intercepts
Russia struck Ukraine with 205 drones in the night of October 5, including 49 jet-powered variants. Ukrainian air defense shot down or suppressed 172 of them, and the Air Force announced the first successful intercepts of Russian jet-powered drones, including the Geran-5, by AI-guided robotic turrets. The attack caused casualties in Kharkiv and damage in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and Poltava region.
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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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Zelenskyy: Russia launched over 2,200 strike drones at Ukraine in one week, calls de-escalation signals "fake"
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported on September 27 that Russia launched more than 2,200 strike drones, approximately 1,650 aerial bombs, and 38 missiles — many ballistic — at Ukraine over the past week. In a single recent day Russia used 277 strike drones, 155 of them jet-powered. Zelenskyy called Russia's diplomatic signals about de-escalation fake, said the strikes on kindergartens and schools amount to terrorism, and announced that new sanctions packages and the U.S. Lindsay Graham law are being prepared for October.
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Russia launched 161 drones at Ukraine overnight, including 82 jet-powered Shaheds; 122 targets intercepted
On the night of 23 September 2026, Russia attacked Ukraine with 161 strike drones of various types, including 82 jet-powered Shaheds, Gerbera drones, Parodia decoys and Banderole/Dan-T missiles. Ukrainian air defense shot down or suppressed 122 of the incoming targets by 08:00, but strikes and falling debris hit 26 locations across multiple regions, with casualties reported in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv.
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Zelensky: SBU military counterintelligence deploys new drone interceptor against Russian 'Geran-5'
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on September 19 that the SBU's military counterintelligence created a new interceptor drone and used it successfully against Russian reactive "Geran-5" Shahed-type drones, including twice in a single day. Zelensky said he was informed of the results by acting SBU head Oleksandr Poklad, and published video footage of the intercept. The development comes as Ukraine faces an interception gap with faster reactive drones and is testing multiple interceptor models while seeking to scale up production.
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Two Ukrainian firms pass combat trials of new interceptors for jet 'Shaheds', Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at the Carpathian Eight summit on September 18 that two Ukrainian companies have successfully completed combat trials of new interceptors capable of shooting down Russian jet-powered "Shahed" drones. Contracts with the firms are already being signed, and 67 companies overall are working on solutions. Zelensky said he had discussed addressing funding shortfalls with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
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Russia launches 108 drones at Ukraine overnight; 85 intercepted, hits at seven locations
Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight into September 14 with 108 strike and decoy drones launched from multiple directions, the Ukrainian Air Force Command reported. Air defence shot down or suppressed 85 of the drones as of 08:00, with hits recorded at seven locations. Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat warned that further drone strikes could follow from northern and eastern directions during the day.
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Colonel Oleksandr Dmukhovskyi named commander of Ukraine's "small" air defence forces
Ukraine's Air Force has appointed Colonel Oleksandr Dmukhovskyi to head its "small" air defence command, the service's spokesperson said on 5 September. The appointment comes as Russia has sharply scaled up its use of jet-powered attack drones, rising from roughly 350 in June to over 2,800 in August.
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Zelensky's Staff meeting sets accelerated timeline for interceptor drones against jet-powered Shaheds
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff focused on accelerating Ukrainian production of high-speed interceptor drones designed to counter Russian jet-powered Shahed-type attack drones. Prototypes of the new weapons have been developed, with work underway to bring them to the required effectiveness, and specific deadlines have been set for involving business in air defense production. Zelensky framed the effort as part of an asymmetric response to Russia's growing output of high-speed attack drones.