Russia-Ukraine War: List of Major Events, Day 974 | News about the Russia-Ukraine war

As we enter the 974th day of the war, these are the most important developments.

Here is the situation as of Saturday, October 26, 2024:

Battle

• Three people, including a child, were killed in overnight Russian rocket attacks in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. At least 19 people were injured in the attack, which damaged several buildings, according to Sergiy Lysak, the governor of Dnipro.
• Separate nighttime attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev and the surrounding region left two people dead, including a young girl who died in a drone strike, regional authorities said. At least five people were also reportedly injured.
• The Ukrainian Air Force said it destroyed 36 of 63 drones launched by Russia and shot them down over various parts of Ukraine. It added that 16 drones were “locally lost.”

Politics and diplomacy

• Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers and central bank chiefs said $50 billion in bilateral loans to Ukraine, backed by frozen Russian assets, would be available for disbursement from December 1 until the end of 2027.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected a plan for the United Nations Secretary-General to visit Kiev due to Antonio Guterres’s participation in this week’s BRICS summit in Russia, a Ukrainian official said.
• Citing intelligence reports, Zelensky announced that Russia plans to send North Korean troops to the battlefield on October 27-28.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was up to Moscow whether it decided to deploy North Korean troops, and if Ukraine wanted to join NATO, Moscow could act as it pleased to ensure its own security.
• Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, said a full withdrawal of Russian troops, and not just peace talks, was crucial to ending the war that began with Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
• South Korea called on Russia to end its “illegal cooperation” with North Korea and expressed “great concern” as Moscow moved to ratify its defense deal with Pyongyang. Russian lawmakers voted unanimously to ratify the treaty this week. It will now be sent to the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, for approval.
• United States national security adviser Jake Sullivan met his South Korean and Japanese counterparts and the trio expressed “grave concerns” about the stationing of North Korean troops in Russia and their possible use against Ukraine, the White House said.
• Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the prospect of North Korean troops being stationed in Ukraine to fight alongside Russian soldiers was very worrying, should not be underestimated and would further escalate the situation.
• China, India, Saudi Arabia and South Africa have reportedly blocked Ukraine’s attempt to add Russia to an international list of countries with weak money laundering compliance, according to a report by Reuters news agency.
• The Kremlin said it would consider proposals from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to revive Black Sea shipping ties with Ukraine. The agreement, which allows the export of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine, was terminated by Russia in July 2023.