Kherson Oblast attacked with 32 guided bombs, victims reported.

The Russian air force dropped 32 guided bombs on Kherson Oblast early on the morning of Oct.

29, southern forces spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said on national television, Ukrainska Pravda reported. Officials in the regional capital reported hearing loud explosions and suggested locals take cover. Humeniuk said that the Ukraine-controlled western riverbank was hit and there are casualties, though she didn't say how many.

Russians also brought in drones, trying to skirt around the regional air defenses and figure out gaps in air defense coverage they can exploit in the future, she said. Overnight, Shahed type drones and an X-59 missile were launched from the southwest, towards Poltava Oblast, but all were destroyed by air defenses in Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Khmelnytsky oblasts. Ukraine is gearing up for another campaign of mass bombardment by Russian drones, missiles and guided or glide-equipped bombs, as the country heads into the cold season.

In addition to Shaheds, Russia is also manufacturing light suicide drones of its own, which are cheap and easy to make but lack the larger drones' destructive power.

Military: Russian troops arrive in Belarus to train local drone operators Citing Belarusian opposition, the Ukrainian military said that Russian specialists are arriving at the military base in Byaroza, Brest region in western Belarus.

Reporter

Igor is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously covered conflict in the Middle East, investigated corruption in Ukraine and man-made environmental damage in Southeast Asia.

He has a Master's in Journalism from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and was published in the Kyiv Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, Daily Beast and Foreign Policy.