Issued on: 02/10/2026 - 07:30Modified: 02/10/2026 - 20:05
Russia is “tearing Kyiv apart”, the city’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Friday, as Russia pummelled key infrastructure across the Ukrainian capital. Russian drones have pummelled Kyiv’s Southern Bridge, forcing authorities to close traffic on it. Read our liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.
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EU commissioner says situation in Russian-occupied Oleshky is 'appalling'
Russia must provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in the frontline Ukrainian town of Oleshky – currently occupied by Russia – as the situation there is "appalling", said European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, whose portfolio includes humanitarian aid.
"What is happening in Oleshky, Ukraine, is appalling. Civilians are trapped under siege by Russian forces without access to food, medicine, clean water and basic care. This is unacceptable," said Lahbib.
"Russia, as occupying power, has clear obligations under international humanitarian law: civilians must be protected and humanitarian assistance must be facilitated," she added.
Oleshky lies "within the range of drones operated by both sides", Ukrainian drone expert Olena Kryzhanivska wrote in a recent newsletter.
"The skies over the city have become a constant battlespace, with drones hunting other drones and targeting virtually anything moving on the ground," she added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blamed Ukrainian attacks for the worsening situation, saying they were cutting off Russia's own aid from reaching the city.
Putin observes military drills in Russia's Urals region
Russian President Vladimir Putin observed the Centre-2026 military exercises in Russia's Chelyabinsk region in the Urals on Friday.
The drills involve more than 47,000 personnel, Putin said.
Kyiv's Southern Bridge struck in another Russian air attack, mayor says
Kyiv's mayor says Russian strikes are tearing the capital apart
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Ukrainian capital was in a "very dramatic situation" as Russia stepped up its deadly barrages.
"The capital is in a very dramatic situation. And it's no longer possible to pretend that we can live now as we do in peacetime," Klitschko said on Telegram.
"The enemy is tearing Kyiv apart," he added.
Polish city reopens Cold War shelter as Russian attacks in Ukraine intensify
The Polish city of Lublin has revived a Cold War-era air raid shelter as Russia steps up attacks in Ukraine, with one symbolic change reflecting a shift in perceived threats: its emergency exit now faces west, not east.
Poland is currently on heightened alert after several Russian missile and drone incursions into its airspace. Residents of eastern regions have been issued warnings to seek shelter during Russian airstrikes on neighbouring western Ukraine.
One of the shelters available during recent alerts is a modernised facility beneath the premises of municipal bus operator MPK in Lublin. Built in the mid-1980s at the height of Cold War tensions, it was upgraded to meet current standards.
“It provides shelter for 200 people for up to 72 hours, ensuring access to air, water and electricity independent of external power grids,” Kamil Rzad, a civil defence inspector at MPK Lublin, told Reuters.
The number of shelters is estimated by the government at around 2,000, enough for about 300,000 people. Poland also has over 86,000 places of refuge offering a lower level of protection such as basements, underground garages or subway stations, and catering for around 23 million people.
Seoul's anger with Kyiv over POWs may be driven by worries about ties with NKorea
While Ukraine may have revealed its transfer of North Korean POW’s to Ukraine to garner public support in the northeastasian country, Seoul’s anger may be explained by fears that it will further deteriorate its ties with Pyongyang.
The North Korean soldiers’ transfer could complicate Seoul’s push for talks with Pyongyang, because North Korea has previously reacted with fury to defections of its citizens and accused the South of kidnapping them.
“Our government’s policy is restoring severed dialogue with North Korea and easing tensions ... So it wanted to handle the POW issue in a low-key manner,” said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said his government has been making coordination efforts to resume talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, hoping that would help restart its own talks with the North and boost peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Traffic chaos in Kyiv after Russian drone strikes on bridge
Traffic has come to a standstill in Kyiv after one of the city’s main bridges was closed and restrictions were placed on others after another wave of deadly Russian drone strikes.
Long queues of stationary cars and buses were gridlocked on main roads in the Ukrainian capital as commuters sought alternative routes – or even made their way on foot.
“I’ve been travelling for three hours... to get to work,” said Tetiana Osypenko, a 49-year-old seamstress whose bus was stuck in a traffic jam. “It’s impossible to cross the bridges today,” she said.
Ukraine has long feared an attack on its major transportation bridges since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine denies F-16 crisis over maintenance and parts
Ukraine denies that it is facing maintenance and supply problems with its F-16 fighter jets, insisting it can keep them in the air throughout winter.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that delays in maintenance and a shortage of parts had grounded more than half of Ukraine’s fleet, and all of its US-made aircraft could be affected by the year-end.
Foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy acknowledged that Ukraine’s F-16s operate “intensively and under demanding conditions” and maintenance was “challenging”.
“Certain components for this early F-16 variant are no longer in production and are becoming increasingly difficult to source,” he wrote on X. “However, recent reports alleging catastrophically low aircraft availability rates and excessively long maintenance turnaround times are simply false,” he added.
Ukraine hits oil facilities in Russia’s Samara and Volgograd regions, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had hit oil facilities in Russia’s Samara and Volgograd regions.
He also announced “successful operations” against the enemy in the Black Sea and in the Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, and Krasnodar regions, “targeting airfields, industrial facilities, oil refineries, a missile and space center, and an ammunition depot belonging to the occupiers”.
Zelensky calls for more sanctions as Russia ‘critically dependent’ on foreign components for drones
In his post on X, Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky also noted that regardless of how hard Moscow tries to localise its production of drones and missiles “its ability to escalate remains critically dependent on foreign components”.
“These are supply chains running from Europe, the United States, China, Japan, and many other countries,” he wrote.
“Most of these companies are well-known manufacturers, but their components still make their way to Russia. Every Russian drone can actually be stopped right at the production line,” he said, calling for tougher santions.
Russia also destroyed Kherson kindergarten in latest attacks, Zelensky says
“Last night, the Russians launched more than 100 attack drones at Ukraine, nearly 50 of them jet-powered, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, saying that although Ukraine managed to destroy “most of them” there were also hits, including the deadly one on a Kyiv apartment building.
“In Kherson, the Russians ‘defeated’ a kindergarten”, he said, “in Kharkiv, they attacked a grocery store, and an institute and critical infrastructure were damaged. Enemy strikes also hit apartment buildings in Kramatorsk and Sumy. The Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Poltava, and Rivne regions also came under attack.”
Russia says company in Tuapse slightly damaged in drone attack
Company facilities in the Russian town of Tuapse in the southern Krasnodar region has been slightly damaged by drone debris, local authorities said, without providing details.
The Black Sea port town of Tuapse hosts an oil refinery and port facilities, including a sea grain terminal.
Second bridge shut in Russian strikes on Kyiv
Following full closure of Kyiv's Southern Bridge, another – Paton Bridge, located further north, has had traffic restricted, according to reports by authorities.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Southern Bridge, which connects the east and west of Kyiv over the Dnipro river, was "completely closed" to traffic in both directions.
The Paton Bridge, was only open one way, he added, but there were no reports that it had been hit.
Russian drones target Southern Bridge 'four times in 24 hours'
In the past 24 hours, Russian drones have struck Kyiv’s Southern Bridge a total of four times, FRANCE 24’s Ukraine correspondent Gulliver Cragg said, noting “they keep hitting it in the same place”.
Cragg said it is one of Kyiv’s eight bridges and is very important for the city.
Watch his full report in the video below.
Hungary welcomes Ukraine’s bill strengthening Hungarian minority right
Hungary welcomes Ukraine’s move to submit to parliament draft legislation that strengthens the education rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said.
“The bill strengthens the legal guarantees of education in the Hungarian language, and the network of educational institutions,” Magyar said in a Facebook post.
Kremlin says cutting weapons and fuel supplies to Ukraine via Black Sea is key priority
Russia aims to completely halt supplies of weapons and fuel to the Ukrainian military via the Black Sea, the Kremlin said.
“It is very important for us to completely halt maritime deliveries to Ukraine of military equipment, ammunition, fuel for the armed forces of Ukraine, and the like – actions that are currently under way and will continue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of a limited ceasefire in the Black Sea, where both sides have escalated attacks since July on shipping, ports and energy terminals.
Read more: Russia’s ahead-of-winter attacks on Ukraine’s power grid have begun
Russia says it also struck electrical substation in Kyiv region, port facility in Odesa region
Russia’s defence ministry said the country’s forces had also struck an electrical substation in the Kyiv region with the help of drones as well as an industrial complex at Izmail port in the Odesa region.
The ministry said the Izmail facility handled military cargo and fuel supplies for the Ukrainian military.
It also said a dry cargo vessel carrying military equipment and dual-use goods to the port of Odesa was hit in the Black Sea.
South Korea warns of ‘further measures’ unless Ukraine apologises over POW disclosure
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that Seoul would take “further measures” if Ukraine refuses to publicly apologise over what he called its unilateral disclosure of North Korean POWs being sent to South Korea.
Seoul has taken a hard stance on Ukraine disclosing the transfer of two soldiers captured fighting for Russia, warning that their families could be targeted by Pyongyang.
The POWs were captured by Ukrainian forces early last year after being deployed alongside thousands of North Korean troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, in exchange for economic and military assistance to Pyongyang.
Hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed last week the transfer in remarks at the United Nations, South Korea’s Lee expressed his dismay, with Seoul claiming confidentiality was key to protecting the POWs’ relatives.
“If Ukraine continues to refuse to acknowledge the facts and publicly apologise, we will take further measures,” the South Korean president said, accusing Kyiv of making him out to be a “liar”. “This is a matter concerning the dignity of the Republic of Korea and its people and cannot be overlooked,” he said in a post on social media.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and Reuters)
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