Russian Strike Sets Dnipro Shopping Centre Ablaze Injuring Three
Russian strikes hit a shopping centre in Dnipro on 19 September, injuring three people and causing a major fire, while Ukrainian forces downed a Russian Geran-5 jet-powered drone for the second time that day.
Russian Attack on Dnipro Shopping Centre
A shopping centre called Novyi Kontynent in Dnipro caught fire after a Russian attack on 19 September. [2] Three people are reported injured in the attack. [2] A 59-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman have been hospitalised in a moderately serious condition. [2] As of 20:02 on the day of the attack, the number of people injured in the Russian attack on the shopping centre in Dnipro has risen to three. [2] Oleksandr Hanzha, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, reported a fire in Dnipro following the Russian attack and later specified the injuries to the two adults. [2] Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov posted photos showing that the Novyi Kontynent shopping centre has burned down. [2]
Ukrainian Interception of Russian Jet-Powered Drone
A Ukrainian interceptor drone successfully struck a Russian jet-powered drone, marking the second such interception on 19 September. [1] President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted footage of the interception on X. [1] The president stated that the Security Service of Ukraine's military counterintelligence personnel successfully struck a Russian Geran-5 jet-powered drone. [1] Earlier on 19 September, Zelenskyy reported that the SSU's military counterintelligence has developed a new interceptor drone to counter jet-powered Shahed drones and has successfully deployed it. [1]
Russian strike sets Dnipro shopping centre ablaze injuring three people. — Source: ukrainskapravda
Fatal Strikes in Kherson Oblast
Two women have been killed as a result of Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast on 19 September. [5] At around 12:50, the Russians attacked an elderly woman with a drone in the village of Lvivski Otruby in the Tiahynka hromada. [5] The woman, 62, was killed instantly by the enemy Molniya drone strike. [5] Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration, reported the incident. [5] Prokudin previously reported that the Russians had attacked the settlement of Novovorontsovka with artillery at around 11:10. [5] A woman sustained fatal injuries as a result of the attack, and her identity is being established. [5]
Intensified Russian Missile Tactics on Kyiv
Russia has scaled up the intensity and frequency of its attacks against the Ukrainian capital. [4] In the first 10 days of July alone, the Russians launched dozens of ballistic missiles in three major attacks, killing nearly 60 civilians, according to official figures. [4] Similar large scale attacks took place in August and September. [4] A BBC Verify analysis of government figures found Kyiv is now suffering more daily air raid alerts than at any time since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. [4] Since the summer, Russia has changed its tactics by relying less on aircraft, whose movements can be spotted ahead of time, and more on ballistic missiles that travel at tremendous speed and provide little warning. [4] Air-raid alerts sometimes begin only moments before impact, or even simultaneously with the first explosions. [4] Previously, Ukraine's air-defence network and military intelligence gave residents a degree of predictability, allowing people to spend the night in shelters, leave the city or take other precautions. [4]
Russian strike sets Dnipro shopping centre ablaze, injuring three people. — Source: france24
Civilian Impact and Adaptation in Kyiv
Residents in Kyiv who say they had got used to Russia's missile and drone strikes have told the BBC World Service the renewed intensity of the attacks is making them rethink how they live their lives. [4] Daria left her apartment in Kyiv this summer after Russia's attacks on the city intensified. [4] At first, she thought she would start using a nearby bomb shelter during attacks, but in June, when a young mother was killed running to a shelter in Kyiv, Daria decided she needed to leave the city altogether. [4] She returned to her family's country house, 30km away in Romankiv, and now spends a total of four hours a day commuting to and from Kyiv, where she works in the defence sector. [4] Sixty-two-year-old Olha Vlasova lives on the seventh floor of a high-rise apartment block with her 98-year-old mother, Nadia Tsybina. [4] Olha has taken to placing a mattress by the window to protect her and her mother from flying glass. [4] Nadia places a pillow over her head to protect her face from flying glass. [4] Once in her wardrobe, Olha will often stay awake watching the news all night. [4] An increase in daytime attacks means life in Kyiv is now interrupted by air raid sirens day and night. [4] At the beginning of September, when children returned to school after the summer break, there were dozens of air raid alerts, followed by explosions and fires. [4] According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, two children were injured in attacks on 31 August. [4] As a result, many children stayed at home, while others spent hours in the basements of schools and kindergartens. [4] When the sirens sound, it also affects businesses and transport, with shopping centres closing and above-ground metro stations suspending operations. [4] For Olha, it has meant seeing less of her eight-year-old granddaughter, who lives on the other side of the city. [4] Crossing the river can cost as much as 1,000 hryvnias when metro services stop running. [4] Mother-of-two Natalia Bushkovska each night rehearses three different plans for sheltering, including spreading bedding in the hallway, moving into the building's shared corridor, or heading for the basement. [4] She keeps a backpack with essential items including a tourniquet and a whistle. [4] Her nine-year-old daughter has her own emergency bag containing toys, lip balm and a tourniquet. [4]
Broader Context of Attacks and Cyber Activity
Russia said Saturday that its electronic voting system in Moscow had come under “powerful” cyberattacks overnight, as parliamentary elections entered their second day. [3] Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Ukraine of seeking to “hinder” the vote, a claim Kyiv has not publicly addressed. [3] The European Union slammed Russia's tightly controlled parliamentary elections on Friday, accusing the Kremlin of using repression to deprive voters of "a genuine choice about the future of their country". [3] French President Emmanuel Macron said he had ordered measures to protect France's critical infrastructure and defence industry sites from "Russian hybrid attacks". [3]
What to watch next: Ukrainian forces may continue deploying the new interceptor drone system against Russian jet-powered drones, as demonstrated in the second successful strike on 19 September.
