Moscow claims 28 Ukrainian drones downed in 12 hours

Russia's Defense Ministry says its air defenses knocked down 28 Ukrainian aircraft-type drones in a 12-hour window. In a Telegram post on Saturday, the ministry said the UAVs were destroyed over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk and Oryol regions — a belt of territory along or near Ukraine's northern border. The claim comes straight from Moscow and hasn't been independently verified.

Kyiv isn't sitting still. President Volodymyr Zelensky used a video address on X Saturday to press Western allies for fresh support packages, saying Ukraine still lacks Patriot defense systems — the gap he blames for the country taking what he called significant hits. He also warned that Russia will target Ukraine's energy sector in the months ahead, making winter especially brutal.

Zelensky said Ukraine will be present in several diplomatic formats in November, listing the G7 and the Coalition of the Willing among them. That push for allies comes as Moscow sharpens its rhetoric. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called any foreign troop presence on the Ukrainian front categorically unacceptable, arguing it would amount to military intervention and a deliberate projection of extra threats to Russia's security. She added that Russian forces would treat any military units inside Ukraine as legitimate targets.

The strikes and the diplomacy are running on parallel tracks. Zelensky accused Russia of firing North Korean-made KN-23 ballistic missiles in a recent attack on a key energy facility, saying Moscow is leaning on foreign suppliers to hit harder. He said 36 ballistic missiles flew in that attack and Ukrainian forces intercepted only four, a shortfall he tied to a Patriot interceptor shortage — and he urged the United States to speed up deliveries before winter bites.

Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said Russia struck Ukrainian energy facilities 18 times in the previous 24 hours. He shared the figure in a conversation with German Economic Affairs Minister Katherina Reiche, framing it as fresh proof that Ukraine desperately needs more military assistance from its partners. Similar appeals landed earlier in the day from Zelensky and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.