The likely target of a Russian drone attack in western Ukraine was the Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant, says Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. According to a BBC report Iranian-designed Shahed drones struck the area around the power plant in the western Khmelnytsky region early on Wednesday 25 October. The attack injured 20 people and caused light damage, including broken windows. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the plant's operations were unaffected.
Kyiv accuses Russia of shelling the plant and risking a radiation leak, behaviour it characterises as "nuclear terror". No serious accident has occurred since the full-scale invasion last year, however.
Mr Zelensky said the attack in the Khmelnytsky region showed that Ukraine's air defences needed further support from international partners. He added that Russian drones and missiles contained components originating from Western countries and companies, indicating "how dangerous it can be when Russia can bypass international sanctions".
New aid package
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced a €1.4bn aid package for Ukraine. The new aid will include missile defence systems with the aim of creating a "protective shield" around Ukrainian infrastructure, given Russian plans "to use the cold and energy shortages as weapons against the civilian population", he said.
