Photo AFP

In less than a day, the Russian occupiers launched about 43 kamikaze drones across Ukraine, 37 of which were destroyed - Yurii Hnat, the spokesman for the Air Force Command, said at a briefing, noting that this was "a pretty good result".

On October 17, the night attack on Mykolaiv began. Three kamikaze drones hit objects of industrial infrastructure and a pharmaceutical warehouse. The explosions caused a huge fire. Later, it became known that sunflower oil tanks on the territory of the agricultural enterprise were damaged as a result of the strike. There were no human losses. In total, 11 "shaheds" were shot down in the region overnight.

Dnipropetrovsk region was also hit hard at night. The occupants fired from "Grads" and other heavy artillery in Nikopol, Marganets, and Chervonogrigoriv communities. More than 40 shells landed in Nikopol, wounding a 47-year-old man. Almost 30 residential buildings, an industrial enterprise, several gas pipelines, and power lines were damaged.

And in the morning, around 7:00 a.m., the mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko announced the first explosions in the city center. Within an hour, two more drones exploded. The residential building was heavily damaged. People were under the rubble. 

At the same time, it became known about the explosions in Odessa and about the announcement of a large-scale alarm throughout the country. Later, there was a report about the movement of 3 cruise missiles flying in the direction of Kyiv. Subsequently, all 3 missiles were shot down by air defense.

Klitschko announced the destruction of 23 UAVs out of 28 that attacked the capital. 5 drones were still able to cause damage. 

Rescue operations continued for several hours. 19 people were rescued from the rubble, but 4 could not be saved. Among the victims is a young couple who were expecting their first child. 

It also became known about an enemy missile attack on the Sumy region. As a result, critical infrastructure facilities were damaged and three people died in the Romensky district.

There was a report about the successful work of Ukrainian air defense systems in the Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, and Chernihiv regions.

Already in the morning, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, published a tweet in which he condemned Russia's massive attack on Ukraine and announced an increase in military aid to 3.1 billion euros and the launch of the first EU training mission for the Armed Forces - EUMAM Ukraine.

The most famous Ukrainian fund "Come Back Alive" announced "cotton in Moscow" calling it "Ukraine's answer". State Concern "Ukroboronprom" showed a photo of new development - a missile with a range of 1000 km and a warhead weight of 75 kg.