Ukraine updates: Kyiv says ammo plant hit deep inside Russia

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that its team at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant heard multiple rounds of incoming and outgoing shelling near the site on Monday.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in a post by the agency on X that the shelling "adds to nuclear safety risks at ZNPP," noting the plant has been without off-site power for nearly two weeks.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of conducting a "hybrid war" against Germany, saying Moscow's campaign extends beyond Ukraine to target all of Europe.

"He is waging an information war against us. He is waging a military war against Ukraine and this war is directed against all of us," Merz told broadcaster NTV on Monday. He said Putin aims to undermine Europe’s political order and that supporting Ukraine is in Germany’s interest to defend open, liberal societies.

Asked whether Putin was waging war on Germany, Merz replied: "He is waging a hybrid war against us." He linked recent drone incidents across Europe to Russian intimidation efforts, saying, "We will not be intimidated and we will defend ourselves effectively."

Merz said he is considering speaking directly with Putin but noted that "every attempt to talk to him at the moment is ending in even tougher attacks on Ukraine." He added that he had a heated exchange with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at last week's EU meeting in Copenhagen after Orban accused Germany of avoiding negotiations.

Merz said he reminded Orban that Putin responded to his own visits to Kyiv and Moscow last year by bombing a children's hospital in Kyiv.

For more on Germany, click here to check out our blog with news from Europe's largest economy.

Russian weapons used in attacks on Ukraine continue to include large numbers of foreign-made components despite sanctions, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Posting Monday on X, Zelensky said that during the combined strike on October 5, Russia used 549 weapon systems containing 102,785 parts from companies in the United States, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, and the Netherlands.

He said Ukraine had shared detailed information with partner governments and that every sanction loophole must be closed.

"It is crucial to shut down every scheme that circumvents sanctions, because Russia uses each one to keep killing. The world has the power to stop this," Zelenskyy said.

At least five people died in Sunday's attacks, which targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Strikes have continued into Monday, with a fire breaking out on the roof of a perinatal center in Sumy, according to presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak. All 11 infants, 35 patients, and 120 staff reached a shelter safely.

In Kherson, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said a 69-year-old woman was killed and 12 people were injured, including two minors. Ukraine has been defending against Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022.

Ukraine said its long-range drones have struck a major Russian ammunition plant, an oil terminal, and a weapons depot behind the front line, escalating pressure on Moscow's military supply network.

The Ukrainian General Staff said Monday that overnight strikes hit the Sverdlov ammunition plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region, some 750 kilometers (about 470 kilometers) from the border with Ukraine. Kyiv said the attack triggered multiple explosions and a fire at the plant, which is said to make aviation and artillery ordnance, aerial bombs, and anti-aircraft and anti-tank munitions.

"The plant is one of the largest Russian producers of explosives. It is capable of equipping practically all types of ammunition," the General Staff said in a statement.

Ukrainian drones also hit an oil terminal in occupied Crimea, starting a blaze, and an ammunition depot of Russia's 18th Combined Arms Army, the General Staff said.

Russian officials reported one of the largest Ukrainian drone barrages since the full-scale invasion began, saying 251 drones were shot down across 14 regions, Crimea, and areas near the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Nizhny Novgorod Governor Gleb Nikitin said air defenses intercepted 20 drones targeting an industrial zone that includes the ammunition plant and that no facilities were damaged.

Ukraine's long-range attacks on refineries and oil sites have previously led to fuel shortages in Russia. Kyiv has been expanding its domestic weapons production, particularly drones, in an effort to strike deeper into Russian territory and disrupt President Vladimir Putin's war logistics.

A Russian strike has set the roof of a perinatal center ablaze in the northeastern city of Sumy, according to presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

He said 11 infants, 35 patients, and 120 staff members were inside the facility at the time of the attack but all managed to reach a shelter safely. Shelling has continued in the area, Yermak said.

Meanwhile, a 69-year-old woman has died in a Russian strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin has said.

He said 12 people have been injured, including two minors.

Welcome to DW's coverage of the latest developments in the Russian war on Ukraine.

You join us Kyiv says its drones and missiles struck deep into Russian-held territory, hitting a major ammunition plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region — hundred of kilometers from Ukraine — as well as an oil terminal in occupied Crimea.

The Ukrainian General Staff has been reporting explosions and a large fire at the Sverdlov ammunition plant, which it says supplies aviation and artillery munitions to Russian forces.

Stay tuned for the latest news and analysis from the ongoing war.