Russian forces launched another series of drone attacks against Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday, Oct. 20, striking energy infrastructure in the western Lviv region and damaging a church and an industrial facility in neighboring Khmelnytsky region, Ukrainian officials reported.
The attacks followed a deadly Russian strike on the city of Khmelnytsky on Monday evening, where emergency workers recovered the bodies of two women from damaged residential buildings, including a woman born in 1926 who would have turned 100 this year.
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In the Lviv region, Russian drones struck the same critical energy infrastructure facility twice, according to regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi.
In Khmelnytsky region, another attack damaged a church in the Shepetivka district, including its facade, windows and bell tower, while a separate enterprise also came under fire.
The renewed strikes came less than 24 hours after Russia’s large-scale missile and drone assault on Ukraine’s energy network left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and prompted President Volodymyr Zelensky to again criticize the absence of advance ballistic missile warnings from international partners.
Russian Drones Strike Lviv Energy Facility Twice
Lviv regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported late Monday that a Russian drone had targeted a critical energy infrastructure facility in the region.
He subsequently confirmed a second strike against the same site.
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Emergency crews were dispatched to respond to the attack.
The strikes followed an Air Force warning about a jet-powered Russian drone approaching the Lviv region.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks, damaging power generation and distribution facilities as the country approaches another winter of war.
Church and Enterprise Damaged in Khmelnytsky Region
In the neighboring Khmelnytsky region, Russian strikes damaged a church in the Shepetivka district, according to regional military administration chief Serhii Tiurin.
The building sustained damage to its exterior, windows and bell tower.
“The facade of the building, windows and bell tower were damaged. No information about deaths or injuries has been received,” Tiurin said.
Tiurin subsequently reported that Russian forces had also attacked an enterprise in the region. Emergency personnel responded to the scene, with no casualties initially reported.
The overnight strikes followed an attack on the city of Khmelnytsky on Monday evening that damaged residential buildings and sparked fires.
Authorities later confirmed that two women had been killed in that earlier attack, one born in 1926 and the other in 1954.
Air Force Warns of Continuing Missile and Drone Threats
Ukraine’s Air Force issued warnings about Russian aerial threats as attacks continued across several regions.
The overnight assault came after Monday’s barrage, during which Russia launched ballistic and cruise missiles alongside hundreds of drones, targeting Ukraine’s power network and civilian infrastructure.
Zelensky said Ukraine had again received no advance warning from its partners about the initial ballistic missile strikes, raising questions about the reliability of intelligence-sharing at a time when Kyiv faces shortages of critical air defense interceptors.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that Washington had suspended intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, while acknowledging that a technical problem affecting an early-warning system was under investigation.
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