Russia hits Ukrainian cities as Zelenskyy warns of fresh North Korean
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- Russia launched missiles, drones and glide bombs on Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least nine civilians, including a 15-year-old boy in the Dnipropetrovsk region and six people in Zaporizhzhia
- Zelenskyy said Russian forces used North Korean-supplied ballistic missiles in the Zaporizhzhia strike, wounding 19, and warned Moscow received additional missiles from Pyongyang and is preparing to deploy more North Korean troops
- Russia is increasing ballistic missile production to take advantage of Ukraine's shortage of Patriot air defense interceptors capable of stopping them
- Washington has shifted diplomatic focus to the Iran war, leaving US-led efforts to end the Ukraine war stalled
- The Institute for the Study of War concluded the Kremlin will not enter serious negotiations as long as Putin sees a viable military path, and that Ukraine's Patriot shortages give Russia an opening to inflict serious damage this winter
- Ukraine struck back overnight, hitting Wildberries logistics facilities in Russia's Voronezh region and reportedly an oil refinery in Orsk, 1,300 km from the border; Russia's Defense Ministry claimed it intercepted nearly 400 Ukrainian drones over 14 regions and occupied Crimea
Why it matters: Ukraine's Patriot interceptor shortage — compounded by North Korean missile resupply and Russia's expanded production — hands Moscow a widening window to escalate strikes through winter with diminished Western capacity to intercept. With US diplomacy sidelined by the Iran war and ISW assessing that Putin will not negotiate seriously while he sees a viable military path, Kyiv enters the cold season defending a thinning missile shield while escalating its own long-range drone campaign against Russian logistics and refineries.
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