Russian missile strike on Zaporizhzhia kills three, injures 15

The death toll from a Russian ballistic missile attack on central Zaporizhzhia on October 21, 2024, has risen to three, with 15 others injured, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration.

Aftermath in Zaporizhzhia

Later, at 18:23, October 21, Fedorov reported a third fatality, stating, “A 44-year-old woman died in the hospital. Doctors fought to save her life for several hours.”

The attack damaged numerous civilian structures, including a kindergarten.

To provide background, on October 14, 2024, Russian forces fired 177 times on 9 settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and launched 84 drone attacks on populated areas.

Fedorov detailed that Russian forces conducted four airstrikes on Temyrivka and used 84 drones to attack Lobkove, Huliaipole, Novoandriivka, Novodanylivka, Robotyne, Mala Tokmachka, Malynivka, and Levadne. Additionally, seven multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) attacks targeted Lobkove, Novodanylivka, and Mala Tokmachka.

On Octobor 8, a Russian FPV drone strike on a civilian vehicle in Prymorske village killed a 71-year-old man and injured a 67-year-old woman.

The Russian Federation uses temporarily occupied Crimea as a military foothold for its military aggression from the south of Ukraine, shelling Ukrainian cities from the peninsula. Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated the importance of de-occupying the Crimean Peninsula.

Ukraine has repeatedly called on countries worldwide to impose restrictive sanctions on the Russian Federation to compel it to comply with international law, including UN Charta.

In a related development, The Times reported on September 27, citing a Western official, that evidence has emerged of secret Chinese arms supplies to Russia. This could signal a major escalation in Beijing’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict. The report claims that an unnamed Chinese company is supplying Russia with “a range of purpose-built military drones” for use in Ukraine.

Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) note that joint Russian-Chinese naval exercises and the visit of Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov to China indicate intensifying defense cooperation between the two nations.