Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Monday of launching deadly drone attacks in civilian areas of their countries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky anticipated "a very intense week" of diplomacy at the UN General Assembly in New York, where the Security Council is expected to discuss the war on Tuesday.
Zelensky has tried to boost a peace effort led by the United States, offering a ceasefire and a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, Moscow has questioned some of the proposals, and an end to the bloodshed does not seem any closer.
Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot down 21 Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow, as reported by the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin. The Defense Ministry also stated that Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot down another 69 fixed-wing Ukrainian drones over nine regions, including Moscow.
Russia attacks the city of Zaporizhia with several guided aerial bombs, causing one fatality
Russia attacked the city of Zaporizhia in southeastern Ukraine on Tuesday with several guided aerial bombs, resulting in the death of one man, according to Ivan Fedorov, the head of the Military Administration of the province.
For the second consecutive night, aerial bombs targeted Zaporizhia, hitting at least four private homes and industrial infrastructure facilities, as reported by Fedorov on Telegram. Efe reports.
Rescuers recovered the lifeless body of a man from the rubble, describing the attack as "terrorism against a peaceful city and exclusively against the civilian population."
UN denounces "systematic" torture of Ukrainian civilians detained by Russia
Russian authorities subjected detained civilians in occupied Ukrainian areas to "widespread and systematic" torture, including sexual violence, as denounced in a report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday.
UN investigators interviewed 216 civilians released since June 2023. Among them, 92% provided "consistent and detailed accounts of torture or ill-treatment during their captivity," according to the report cited by AFP.
They described "severe beatings with various instruments such as sticks and batons, electric shocks in various parts of the body, and mock executions." Many also claimed to have received death threats and violence against themselves or their families.
Russia shoots down 21 drones heading to Moscow
Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot down 21 Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow on Tuesday, as reported by the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin. "Anti-aircraft defenses continue to repel enemy drone attacks. Two more drones flying towards Moscow were shot down. Emergency services are working at the site of their fall," the mayor wrote on his Telegram channel.
Since midnight, Sobyanin has posted ten entries about the drone downings near Moscow without reporting any victims or damage from the attacks. The Defense Ministry also stated that Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot down 69 fixed-wing Ukrainian drones over nine regions, including Moscow.
"From midnight until 7:00 Moscow time, the active anti-aircraft defense systems destroyed 69 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles," the military report published on Telegram stated. Efe reports.
Defense confirmed that the drones were shot down in the regions of Moscow, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Rostov, Ryazan, Samara, Saratov, and the annexed Crimea peninsula.
Russian air forces neutralize six drones in Crimea and three in Tula
The governor of the port city of Sevastopol in Crimea, Mikhail Razvozhayev, home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, stated on Tuesday that anti-aircraft units had destroyed at least six drones near the port. The fallen debris caused a fire in an open area, which was eventually extinguished. Reuters reports.
The governor of the Tula region in central Russia, Dmitri Milyayev, confirmed that three other drones were shot down without causing damage or casualties.
Russia shoots down 33 Ukrainian drones heading to Moscow, and dozens in Crimea
Russian anti-aircraft units shot down 33 Ukrainian drones heading to Moscow during the early hours of Tuesday, as well as dozens more in Russian-controlled Crimea and other parts of the western country, according to authorities.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, through his posts on the Telegram messaging app, confirmed that the drones were destroyed on their way to the city within a period of about twelve hours. Reuters reports.
Some flights were delayed, even canceled, at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, Russia's largest by passenger numbers. The Russian national airline Aeroflot has announced its goal to fully resume normal operations at the airport during Tuesday. verify the reports independently.
1,103,580 Russian combat losses since the start of the invasion
The official account 'Defense of Ukraine' published on Monday the total number of reported Russian combat losses from February 24, 2022 (start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine) to September 23, 2025.
The total figure amounts to 1,103,480 Russian combat losses.
Zelensky meets with the President of Kazakhstan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Tuesday that he had met with the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. During the meeting, both leaders discussed Ukraine, the United States, and Europe's efforts to end the war.
"We also discussed commercial and economic cooperation, as well as the interest of Kazakh companies in participating in the reconstruction of Ukraine," stated Zelensky, as reported by Reuters.
Zelensky discusses arms acquisition with US envoy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Monday that he had discussed the acquisition of arms from the United States, a proposal Ukraine has made to Washington, with US envoy Keith Kellogg, as reported by Reuters.
"I informed him about the situation on the front and the results of the counteroffensive operation near Dobropillia and Pokrovsk. We also discussed the development of cooperation between Ukraine and the United States," stated the Ukrainian president in a post on the social network X (formerly known as Twitter).