Zelensky presses Washington to approve Patriot interceptors as Russian strikes kill 20

Russian strikes killed at least 20 people across Ukraine on Thursday, 29 October, with the deadliest blow falling on Dnipro's railway station, where a jet-powered drone struck a platform beside a commuter train and a passenger service bound for Zaporizhzhia, killing 14 civilians and injuring 14 more.

Two 15-year-old girls died in Chernihiv. Three people were killed in strikes on residential buildings in Kremenchuk, and a late-night attack in Kyiv killed one more person.

President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his appeal for Patriot interceptors, citing Ukrainian intelligence indicating Russia was preparing further ballistic missile attacks. "We now have intel about the Russians preparing new ballistic missile attacks. We need the capabilities to shoot down this Russian evil and are awaiting the decisions," he wrote on social media.

Zelensky also challenged Western governments over sanctions relief granted to Moscow while Russian forces continue killing civilians, calling for "new, stronger sanctions steps by the EU, the US, and the G7."

A US-brokered humanitarian ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky, negotiated with the involvement of First Lady Melania Trump, held without reported major violations, allowing preparations for humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations. An estimated 1,700 to 2,000 civilians remain trapped there, including around 50 children. Zelensky welcomed the initiative but urged Washington to press for nationwide de-escalation, not only in Oleshky.