Russian missile strikes on Ukraine hit 2.5-year high

Russia fired more missiles at Ukraine in October than in any month since at least the start of 2023 as it pounded the country's energy grid in night-time attacks, an AFP analysis of Ukrainian data showed.

Russian strikes have caused sweeping blackouts affecting tens of thousands of people, with Moscow targeting Ukraine's power grid for the fourth winter running in what Kyiv and its backers say is a deliberate and cynical strategy to wear down Ukraine's civilian population.

Russia's army fired 270 missiles over October, up 46 percent on the previous month, according to an AFP analysis of daily data published by Ukraine's air force.


That was the highest one-month tally since Kyiv started routinely publishing statistics at the beginning of 2023.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of wanting to sow "chaos" by striking the country's energy grid so intensely.

"Russia's task is to create chaos and apply psychological pressure on the population through strikes on energy facilities and railways," Zelensky told journalists, including AFP, at a briefing last month.

As in previous winters, rolling blackouts have been introduced in every region of the country, including Kyiv, throughout October to deal with shortfalls in power.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague last year issued arrest warrants for top Russian army officials for the "war crime of causing excessive" harm to civilians by striking Ukrainian energy sites.

Russia also fired 5,298 long-range drones at Ukraine in October, the same data showed -- down by around six percent on the number it fired in September but still close to record highs.

Russia fires drones at Ukrainian cities and energy sites on a daily basis.

Kyiv has retaliated with strikes on Russian oil depots and refineries, seeking to cut off Moscow's vital energy exports and trigger fuel shortages across the country.