Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 981 | Russia-Ukraine war News

As the war enters its 981st day, these are the main developments.

Here is the situation on Saturday, November 2:

Fighting

• At least two people were wounded in an overnight Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Debris from downed drones hit three city districts, damaging residential buildings and starting fires, according to Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration.
• A Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, hit a location used by police, killing at least one officer and wounding 40 people, the prosecutor general’s office said. Nine civilians and a rescue worker were among the injured, the office said on the Telegram messaging app.
• Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said an earlier attack on the city had damaged an apartment block and several private houses.

North Korean troops in Ukraine

• North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said her country will “stand firmly” by Russia until victory in Ukraine.
• Choe’s visit to Moscow comes as the United States warned that thousands of North Korean soldiers are at the Ukrainian border and are readying to enter combat in the coming days.
• Choe pledged that North Korea would continue to develop its nuclear arsenal, with Pyongyang widely suspected of wanting nuclear technology from Russia in exchange for military support.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lauded “very close ties” between their countries’ “armies and special services”, without mentioning the troop deployment, during his meeting with Choe.
• In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised Kyiv’s allies for inaction amid the deployment of North Korean troops. The president has, for months, been urging his Western allies to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia and increase pressure on Moscow to end the war.
• “We know where these North Korean troops are gathering in Russia. We could act preemptively if we had the means – long-range capability. Yet, America, the UK, and Germany watch,” he posted on social media platform X.

Diplomacy

• The US announced an additional $425m in military assistance to Ukraine. The new aid package includes air defence interceptors and munitions for rocket systems and artillery, and brings the total amount of military assistance the US has provided Ukraine since…