Zelensky Warns of Massive Russian Strike as 3 Tu-160 Bombers Take Off

President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukrainian citizens to take shelter whenever air raid alerts sound, citing updated intelligence reports about Moscow’s massive planned strike.Ukrainian emergency services and the Air Force are ready to respond, Zelensky said in his evening address on Tuesday, Oct. 6, but the scale of their response depends on the air defense capabilities available to the country.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“A lot depends on our partners – every leader and every country in the world that has the defensive capabilities we need and can provide them to us,” Zelensky said, urging allies to continue supplying Kyiv as the war nears its fifth winter.Bombers took off from SiberiaHours later, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) reported that three Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers had taken off from Belaya airbase in Russia’s Siberian Irkutsk region.In case the aircraft fired cruise missiles, the missiles could likely cross into Ukrainian airspace sometime after 3 a.m. local time, the Air Force said, urging citizens not to ignore air raid alerts and to stay in shelters.Earlier warningThe evening address followed an initial warning Zelensky issued on Tuesday afternoon.He announced the warning after a coordination meeting with government officials, military commanders and emergency services. According to him, Kyiv was also preparing countermeasures.At that meeting, the defense minister and the Air Force commander briefed the president on how air defense assets were being distributed and how protection was organized around key facilities. Other Topics of Interest Lithuania Moves Closer Toward Scrapping Nuclear Weapons Ban The amendment passed its first reading on Tuesday, with a final vote scheduled for Jan. 12, 2027. Zelensky said the government and regional authorities had also prepared additional logistics measures in response to what he called a Russian operation against Ukraine’s logistics. Deadlines were set for many of the tasks, and the most urgent ones were already underway.Separately on Tuesday, Zelensky chaired a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.According to the president, electronic warfare systems neutralize a significant share of Russia’s Shahed drones, and the most effective approaches will be scaled up.The meeting also set priorities for supplying Ukrainian forces with long-range drones next year, with the main goal of giving Ukraine the ability to respond in kind to Russian strikes. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.