Zelenskyy calls for aid amid drone strikes

Kyiv, Oct 18: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the international community to provide more air defense systems in the midst of renewed Russian airstrikes with so-called "suicide drones."

"The world can and must stop this terror. When we talk about Ukraine's need for air and missile defense, we are talking about real lives that are being taken by terrorists," he said in a statement published late Monday.

"And this is not only Ukrainian interest. The fewer terrorist opportunities Russia has, the sooner this war will end," Zelenskyy added.

His comments came after the latest barrage of Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities. Zelenskyy said Monday's attacks were primarily carried out with Iranian-designed combat drones, also referred to as "kamikaze drones."

In the capital Kyiv, four people were killed in the latest round of attacks. Among the dead were a woman who was 6 months pregnant and her husband, local officials said in Kyiv.

Zelenskyy said that since Sunday evening Ukraine had intercepted 37 such drones and several cruise missiles.

Here are the other main headlines from the war in Ukraine on October 18.

Russia military aircraft crashes into residential building near Azov Sea coast

At least 13 people were killed after a military plane crashed into a residential building in the port town of Yeysk in Russia's southwestern Krasnodar Krai region, Russian media Russian media quoted a Health Ministry spokesperson as saying on Tuesday.

Russia's Defense Ministry said the crash of the Su-34 bomber set off a fire spanning some 2,000 square meters (21,500 square feet), the state RIA news agency reported.

Hours after the accident, Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said emergency services had managed to douse the fire.

Yeysk lies on the Azov Sea coast, close to the country"s border with Ukraine and is home to some 90,000 people, along with a Russian air base.

Catch up on DW's coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

NATO started its annual series of nuclear preparedness drills on the heels of veiled threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin that he might consider a nuclear option after military setbacks in Ukraine.

Suicide drones are said to have been used to attack the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Tehran has denied supplying Moscow with the equipment. What do we know about drone imports?

Source: DW