Tuesday 20 October 2026 07:30 UTC
Russian missile and drone waves hit Kyiv and power grid
Russia attacked Kyiv and its region in several waves with 16 ballistic missiles and more than 200 drones, Ukraine said. Strikes damaged a clinic, school, metro station and homes, while attacks on more than 10 energy sites across 11 regions cut power to at least 550,000 families. Ukraine said its partners gave no advance warning. Kyiv asked Washington for ballistic-missile interceptors and restored Starlink service, as a separate account said the Trump administration had not approved an interceptor transfer. Volodymyr Zelensky also said some essential US supplies were being delayed.
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Israel’s military raised its alert to the highest level across all fronts and froze soldiers’ leave from Thursday, ahead of the October 27 election. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel for talks with Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran. Iran’s first vice-president said Tehran had “no choice” but to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, mediation sources said negotiators were seeking mutual concessions that could produce a US-Iran agreement this week, though no deal had been officially confirmed.
French authorities imposed overnight curfews after riots, including a 10 p.m. restriction around Place de la République and Les Halles in central Paris. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government could declare a state of emergency and that intelligence agencies had warned the extreme left might try to disrupt the presidential election. France’s 10-year bond yield climbed towards 5%, described as a two-decade high, while the euro and French bank shares fell.