Ukraine Reports Downing of 18 Russian Drones and Attack on Crimean Oil Facility

Simultaneously with statements from Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, regarding the war entering a 'key' phase, the Air Force of the country reported the 'downing' of 18 Russian drones. According to the Ukrainian army, Russian forces used two 'Iskander-M' ballistic missiles and 19 drones in last night's attack on Ukraine, with only one drone successfully returning to its country of origin. The Russian Air Force had previously announced in a statement on Telegram that Russian forces used drones and missiles in an attack on the southern region of Odessa. The governor of the Odessa region stated that a drone attack on the city of Chernomorsk caused a fire in three floors of an apartment building, but there were no casualties. According to Ukrainian officials, a Russian missile also struck a Palauan-flagged ship in the port of Odessa on Monday, which in a second similar attack in just a few days, resulted in one Ukrainian citizen killed and five crew members injured. The Ukrainian army had announced a day earlier that it attacked a large oil terminal in the Crimea region that supplies 'fuel' for Russian military operations. On Monday, October 9, the Ukrainian army reported a 'successful' attack on the Russian maritime oil terminal in Feodosia, Crimea, via a social media post. According to the General Staff of Ukraine on social media, the oil terminal in Feodosia, located on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula controlled by Russia, supplies fuel for the Russian army, and the mentioned attack is part of ongoing efforts to weaken the Russian military. Zelensky went to the White House with a 'victory plan'; Biden stated: Ukraine will prevail. Russian officials stationed at this oil terminal also reported a fire in one of its facilities on Monday morning, but did not disclose the cause of the fire. Currently, both Moscow and Kyiv are facing the challenge of how to sustain this costly war of attrition, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and there are still no signs of its end. Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, is set to soon present his country's so-called 'victory plan' to his allies in Germany and has arranged a trial to support Kyiv's perspective on ending the war with Russia. Zelensky will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders on October 12 during a regular NATO meeting and other Kyiv allies at the Ramstein Air Base. In recent weeks, he has been discussing the 'victory plan' to compel Russia to come to the negotiating table, having also met with Biden at the White House on October 6. In this meeting, he repeatedly urged Washington to lift restrictions on Kyiv's use of Western long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory.