The civilian cargo ship EMIL, flying the Liberian flag, which was struck by a Russian drone near Odesa on August 5, is drifting 40 nautical miles east of Cape Shabla.

Ukraine has developed a new missile to knock down Russia's fast, jet-powered Shahed drones, the ones its air defenses catch far less often than older models, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 4 October, Suspilne reported. The weapon, called Nika, has not yet been tested. He announced it during a visit to Kyiv by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Russia's plants turn out an estimated 3,000 jet-powered Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones a month, Ukraine's military intelligence estimates, and the jets fly fast enough to outrun the cheap interceptors built for slower, propeller-driven Shaheds. Ukraine plans about 400 units of just one of five interceptor models it is testing by the end of October, as it scrambles to close the gap before winter.

A new missile heads into testing

Both the Ukrainian and German sides have reacted positively to the missile, Zelenskyy said, though he stayed cautious on the result: for now, he said, it only "could be positive." In the same remarks, he announced a successful test of a separate system, the German-Ukrainian interceptor Spys.

Ukraine shoots down 85-92% of propeller-driven Shaheds, Zelenskyy said. Against the jet-powered variants, interception falls to roughly 50-60%, he noted at the press conference with Merz. F-16 fighter jets help close the gap, he said.

From interceptor drones to a new missile

Over the past month, Ukraine tested a new generation of drone interceptors built for the jet-Shahed threat. On 15 September, one struck a Shahed in trials, though Zelenskyy said developers still needed to refine its control system. On 19 September, he said the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had created its own interceptor drone and used it to down a jet Shahed in combat. Nika adds a purpose-built missile to that mix.

Moldova’s Border Police reported that a bus was damaged near the “Palanka–Mayaki-Udobne” checkpoint on the border with Ukraine during a Russian attack; a border guard was injured.

It's the deadliest strike against American troops during the war with Iran

© AP via AP

Ukrainian foreign minister calls Delhi’s ceasefire proposal ‘most comprehensive’

© AFP/Getty

Over the past 24 hours, five civilians were injured as a result of Russian strikes on the Chernihiv region, including a child who is in serious condition.

Ukraine says its long-range strikes have neutralized over half of Russia's oil refining capacity

© Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

German Education Minister Karin Prien is in Kyiv on a two-day visit.

The National Guard (NG) has signed a contract with German partners for the supply of unmanned aerial vehicles and ground stations.

As of the morning of October 5, Russian attacks have left additional consumers without power in six regions.

© Reuters

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has published information on the War&Sanctions portal regarding a new variant of the “Geran-4” jet-powered drones, which Russia began deploying this fall.

Russian forces struck Kharkiv and ten settlements in the region over the past day, killing one person and injuring 12 others.

Russian forces carried out a massive attack on industrial and port infrastructure in the Odesa region.

There were 177 combat engagements between Ukraine's Defense Forces and Russian troops over the past day. The enemy was most active in the Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka directions.

On the morning of October 5, an equipment failure temporarily left residents of parts of Odesa's Kyivskyi, Prymorskyi, and Khadzhybeyskyi districts without electricity.

Yesterday afternoon, the Russian army attacked Mykolaiv with Banderol loitering munitions, damaging warehouses and vehicles and injuring a man.

Ukraine's air defense forces neutralized 172 of the 205 drones with which Russian forces attacked Ukraine from the evening of October 4.

Russian forces carried out 45 strikes on 21 settlements across 14 territorial communities in the Sumy region over the 24-hour period from the morning of October 4 to the morning of October 5, killing one person and injuring others.

Eyewitness video showed the moment a Russian drone struck the North Bridge in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Sunday (4 October).

© Reuters

The total combat losses of Russian forces since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, from February 24, 2022, to October 5, 2026, amount to approximately 1,542,720 personnel, including 2,020 personnel over the past 24 hours.

A house was damaged in an air attack in Vylkove, in the Izmail district of the Odesa region.

The German Embassy in Ukraine, together with other diplomatic missions, expressed concern over a threat issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry against diplomats and foreign nationals in Ukraine and said that German diplomats are staying in Kyiv.

Russian forces struck Kharkiv with a Banderol missile, killing one person and injuring six others.

On Jan. 1, the next United Nations secretary-general will take over an aging global organization controlled by World War II powers

© Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Last night, a man was injured in a Russian drone attack in Pryozerne, Kherson region.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha praised the professionalism of Ukrainian soldiers who carried out a second operation to deliver humanitarian aid to the temporarily occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region.

The Estonian Foreign Ministry has said that the country's embassy remains in Kyiv and assured Ukraine of its continued support.

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, as part of an operation codenamed "Crimean Switch Off," hit 456 energy facilities in territories temporarily occupied by Russia and inside Russia itself over the past three months.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is once again urging citizens not to film or share photos and videos of enemy attacks.

Average UK diesel prices have topped £2 a litre for the first time and have rocketed in recent months due to the wars in Iran and Ukraine

© Getty/iStock

President Volodymyr Zelensky has awarded state scholarships to 16 distinguished figures in education.

The Russians have confirmed the death of war criminal Roman Syromiatnikov, who tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war. He was the one who was blown up on Friday, October 2, in the Tula region while in his own car.

Ukraine and Germany have signed a series of agreements in the energy sector; the total value of the portfolio exceeds 155 million euros.

The rally marked the anniversary of the Kremlin's 1993 crushing of a parliamentary uprising

© AP

On October 4, in the Poltava region, approximately 22,000 customers were left without power after an enemy drone struck an energy facility.

Ukraine’s security and defense forces have disabled more than 51% of the Russian Federation’s oil refining capacity.

Ukraine is testing the “Nika” small rocket and the SPYS high-speed drone, developed jointly with Germany, to intercept Russian jet-powered UAVs.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out two successful offensive operations, during which territories were liberated.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is convinced that supporting Ukraine is in Europe’s interest in order to prevent war and further acts of sabotage.

On Sunday, Russian forces struck four districts of the Dnipropetrovsk region more than 70 times using drones, artillery, and aerial bombs.

Ukraine currently has a deficit of about $4 billion, which must be covered to finance the state’s needs.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on partners to respond decisively to Russian terror, strengthen Ukraine's air defense and impose effective sanctions on Russia's defense industry.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has raised the issue of transferring Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine at a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Ukraine and Germany have signed a series of documents on cooperation in the defense industry, including the purchase and supply of thousands of missiles for IRIS-T systems.

A Russian drone carrying a munition that failed to detonate reportedly crashed in Kyiv's Obolonskyi district.

A fire broke out at the Nikolaevka solar power plant in the Simferopol district in temporarily occupied Crimea.

Germany supports accelerating Ukraine's accession to the European Union and is working on this with partners in Brussels.

The EU Delegation and all EU embassies will keep working in Kyiv despite Russia's warning that foreign diplomats should leave or risk their lives, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová said on 4 October. Poland and Estonia also said their embassies would stay, calling the threats an attempt to intimidate Europe.

Russia attacks Kyiv daily as Moscow tries to make the city unlivable. Alongside the strikes, it now threatens the foreign missions that anchor Ukraine's support in the capital.

"We are staying"

Russia's Foreign Ministry singled out the embassies still working in Kyiv and the foreign officials who keep visiting Ukraine, Mathernová wrote. Moscow claimed that if something happened to them, the responsibility would be theirs.

"The responsibility for russian attacks belongs to russia! Not to anybody else," Mathernová wrote, adding: "Moscow wants to scare Europe into reducing its support for Ukraine. That will not happen."

The EU Delegation continues its work while taking the security of its team seriously, she added.

She pointed to the morning's strike on the Northern Bridge, saying the repeated attacks disrupt the connections between the two banks of the Dnipro. People worry about getting to work, reaching their families, and getting home safely, she wrote.

Poland and Estonia keep their embassies open

Poland's Foreign Ministry said it had no intention of changing how its Kyiv embassy works. The Kremlin's threats and calls for diplomats to leave show it is trying to intimidate Europe and undermine support for Ukraine, the ministry said. Such threats contradict international law and will not work, it added.

Estonia's Foreign Ministry said its embassy stays in Kyiv and its support for Ukraine remains firm. Russia's threats only strengthen Estonia's resolve to stand with Ukraine, the ministry said.

The European Commission also responded. Russia's threats show the Kremlin is losing the war and losing its self-control, Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said, Suspilne reported.

More aid, more sanctions

This year alone, the EU has approved €28.3 billion ($32.3 billion) in defense procurement plans for Ukraine and is releasing another €6.6 billion ($7.5 billion) linked to military aid, Mathernová wrote. It is also moving forward with its biggest-ever sanctions listings against Russia, and this week imposed new sanctions over the deportation of Ukrainian children.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz came to Kyiv on the same day, as Russian attacks on the city continued. He and Zelenskyy visited the National Academy of Sciences building, hit by a Russian drone in September, and Zelenskyy thanked him for coming despite the air raid alert, calling it "a needed and brave signal," in a post on Telegram. Germany remains a reliable partner at Ukraine's side even in difficult times, Merz wrote.

Drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) hit Russian Su-35 and Su-34 fighter jets at a military airfield in the Republic of Adygea, Russia.