Key developments on Oct. 12:
- Russian drone attacks throughout the day strike Kyiv apartment bloc, kill woman, injure 14
- Russia strikes Roshen confectionery factory in Vinnytsia
- New interceptor drone destroys two Russian Geran-5 drones in first week, Fedorov says
- SBU detains 19-year-old suspected of plotting bomb attack on bus full of soldiers
- Fire Point trolls Russia's Yandex after drone attack on data center
- Russia-led military bloc launches joint military drills in Belarus
Russian drone attacks hit Kyiv twice on Oct. 12, killing one person and injuring at least 14 others, city authorities said.
During an evening attack, a Russian drone struck a 25-story residential building in Kyiv's Darnytskyi District, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration.
A woman was killed in the strike, while 11 people were injured, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Earlier in the day, Russia launched a drone attack on Kyiv, injuring three people, including an elderly woman.
Klitschko first said at 11:32 a.m. local time that air defenses were operating in the city.
Drone debris fell in an open area near residential buildings in the Solomyanskyi District of Kyiv and on a house in Darnytskyi District, while in the Pecherskyi District, a fire caused by wreckage of a drone that had crashed near a building was brought under control, Klitschko said.
Yuliia Sheremet, 38, the owner of the house that was damaged in Darnytskyi District, told the Kyiv Independent that her elderly, disabled father was at home when the attack occurred.
Sheremet was working not far away at the time, so she "immediately ran" to her house when she heard explosions and saw the smoke rise.
"And I saw there was no home anymore..."
Her father was injured but survived. Neighbors helped her to get him out. "It's nothing short of a miracle that Dad didn't die today," Sheremet said.
"I'm in shock... It's impossible to live like that, and I don't know how to carry on. We're all exhausted. We need help so that we can defend Ukraine."
Kyiv resident Yana Mohal, 25, woke up to a "horrible and loud" sound in Darnytskyi District, she told the Kyiv Independent. She went outside to see whether she could help Sheremet's father, an "elderly man with a dog," who was trapped in a damaged house.
Mohal added that it was the first time that the Russian attack had struck so close to her.
Russia is regularly attacking Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine. At least 16 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in Kyiv and the surrounding region between Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, according to a Kyiv Independent count based on official reports.
Russia strikes Roshen confectionery factory in Vinnytsia
Russia struck a production complex belonging to Ukrainian confectionery company Roshen in Vinnytsia on Oct. 12, the company said.
"Thanks to the timely activation of the warning system and the prompt evacuation, the lives of employees were saved," Roshen said in a statement.
Vinnytsia Oblast authorities earlier reported that a Russian attack had hit a civilian infrastructure facility in the city and caused a fire. More than 50 rescuers and 13 pieces of emergency equipment were deployed to the site, while explosive ordnance specialists inspected the surrounding area. No injuries were reported.
Roshen later confirmed that its Vinnytsia production complex had been hit.
The company rejected claims circulating in Russian media that its facilities were being used to manufacture drones.
"The corporation's enterprises produce confectionery products and do not manufacture drones or other products for military purposes. The production complex in Vinnytsia is a civilian facility," the company said.
The company did not immediately disclose the extent of the damage to the plant.
"Strikes on food industry facilities endanger the lives of civilian workers, destroy production capacity and jobs, and disrupt the supply of goods," Roshen added.
New interceptor drone destroys two Russian Geran-5 drones in first week, Fedorov says
A new model of interceptor drone developed by former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has been tested successfully, Fedorov himself claimed on social media, posting video footage of the drone successfully intercepting two Russian Geran-5 drones.
"Our new interceptor is already taking down jet-powered Shaheds over Kyiv. Two Geran-5s down in its first week," Fedorov said.
The development time from conception to the first successful tests was just one month, Fedorov claimed, while the new interceptor was deployed by "Lasar's Group," a special forces unit within the 27th Separate Brigade of Ukraine's National Guard.
The successful test comes as Ukrainian cities are under repeated assault from Russia's new generation of jet-powered drones, especially the Geran-5, which blurs the line between a drone and a cruise missile, according to experts.
"The Geran-5 much more resembles a low-cost cruise missile than a long-range drone like the original Shahed derivatives," Fabian Hoffmann, a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, told the Kyiv Independent.
The Geran-5 is particularly difficult to engage, flying significantly higher and faster than any of Russia's older drone models, with a maximum speed of 600 km/h (370 mph).
SBU detains 19-year-old suspected of plotting bomb attack on bus full of soldiers
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has foiled an alleged Russian plot to bomb a bus carrying Ukrainian soldiers in the northwestern city of Rivne, detaining a 19-year-old student suspected of preparing the attack, the SBU and Rivne Regional Prosecutor's Office said on Oct. 12.
According to the SBU, the suspect planted an improvised explosive device under a bus transporting "an entire unit" of Ukrainian soldiers and installed a remotely accessible camera disguised in a juice box opposite the parking area to monitor the vehicle.
Russian intelligence operatives planned to detonate the bomb once the soldiers boarded the bus and were moving to their permanent deployment location, the SBU said.
The suspect acted in exchange for money after being recruited by Russian intelligence services through Telegram channels offering quick earnings, according to the SBU.
After arriving in Rivne, he allegedly collected the explosives from a hiding place designated by his Russian handler and planted the device under the military vehicle. The explosive device was reinforced with two glass bottles containing flammable liquid, the SBU said.
SBU officers discovered the plot, neutralized the explosives, and detained the suspect at the city's bus station when he attempted to leave for Kyiv. Investigators also seized his phone, which the SBU said he had used to report the planted device to his Russian handler.
The Rivne Regional Prosecutor's Office said the suspect had been formally notified of suspicion of an attempted terrorist attack. A court ordered his detention without bail. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison and possible confiscation of property.
Fire Point trolls Russia's Yandex after drone attack on data center
Ukrainian defense company Fire Point trolled Russian tech giant Yandex on Oct. 12, after the company reported damage to another of its data centers, disrupting access to its financial services.
"Today, another Yandex data center was damaged," Dima Pirogov, head of Yandex's fintech division, wrote on X on Oct. 11.
Pirogov said the disruption had left many users unable to check their balances, pay for purchases, or transfer money.
"Dima, have you tried turning it off and on again?" Fire Point replied.
The incident follows a series of reported drone strikes on Russian data centers that have disrupted Yandex services.
Yandex's data center in Russia's Vladimir Oblast was completely shut down on Oct. 11 following a reported drone attack, Russian state news agency TASS said, citing the company.
Russia-led military bloc launches joint military drills in Belarus
Russia and four other members of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have begun joint military exercises in Belarus on Oct. 12, the organization said.
The drills will run from Oct. 12 until Oct. 16 at two training grounds on Belarusian territory, involving more than 1,500 military personnel, over 300 pieces of military equipment, and around 80 drones, according to the CSTO.
Military contingents from Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are participating in the exercises.
The drills focus on training CSTO "peacekeeping forces" and involve exercises to respond to biological threats, the organization said.
CSTO Deputy Secretary-General Mirlan Turgunbekov said in an Oct. 11 statement that the exercise is "particularly relevant given the escalating military and political situation."
The CSTO, which was established in 2002, includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Russia is by far the most powerful member of the alliance. Armenia is not particpating in the drills.
Belarus has supported Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine by allowing Moscow to use its territory as a staging ground for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.