LIVE UPDATES: Lugansk Region Shelled by Ukrainian Forces Using HIMARS

Ukrainian forces have shelled the town of Novoaidar in the Luhansk region using the US-supplied multiple rocket launcher HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), the Lugansk People’s Republic’s (LPR) mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination on the ceasefire regime (JCCC) said.

"Shelling was recorded from the side of the armed formations of Ukraine: 02:50 [23:50 GMT on Saturday] at Novoaidar, with the use of MLRS [Multiple Launch Rocket System] HIMARS (six missiles)," the LPR mission said in a statement on Telegram.

Earlier, the LPR mission to the JCCC said that the cities of Svatovo and Zolotoye in the Lugansk region were also shelled by Ukrainian troops overnight using HIMARS.

There has been no information on damages or casualties.

Late on Thursday night, Ukrainian forces launched an attack targeting a civilian crossing near the Antonovka (Antonovsky) bridge in the Kherson region using the US-supplied HIMARS.

At least four people were killed and over a dozen were injured in the attack, according to Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the regional administration. Stremousov stressed that Ukrainian troops deliberately targeted journalists during the shelling.

Ukrainian forces have targeted the city of Svatove in the Luhansk region using the US-supplied multiple rocket launcher HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), the Lugansk People’s Republic’s (LPR) mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination on the ceasefire regime (JCCC) said.

"Shelling was recorded from the side of the armed formations of Ukraine: 00:30 [21:30 GMT on Saturday] at Svatovo, with the use of MLRS [Multiple Launch Rocket System] HIMARS (one missile)," the LPR mission said in a statement on Telegram.

In a later update on Telegram, the LPR mission to the JCCC said that the city of Zolotoye in the Lugansk region was also shelled by Ukrainian troops overnight using HIMARS (one missile).

There has been no information on damages or casualties.

Late on Thursday night, Ukrainian forces launched an attack targeting a civilian crossing near the Antonovka (Antonovsky) bridge in the Kherson region using the US-supplied HIMARS.

At least four people were killed and over a dozen were injured in the attack, according to Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the regional administration. Stremousov stressed that Ukrainian troops deliberately targeted journalists during the shelling.

Air raid alerts were issued in the Ukrainian regions of Poltava and Kirovograd late on Saturday night, according to local authorities.

Dmytro Lunin, the acting governor of Poltava, said on Telegram shortly after midnight that an air raid warning had been declared in the region.

The head of the Kirovohrad regional administration also informed about an air raid alert via Telegram overnight. An air raid warning was also issued in Kiev, according to the city administration.

On Saturday morning, air raid warnings were heard across Ukraine, including in the capital Kiev and in the regions of Nikolaev, Sumy, Chernigov, Poltava, and Kharkov.

Precision strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure have been carried out by Russia since October 10 (two days after the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 18 that 30% of power plants in Ukraine had been destroyed, leading to massive power outages.

On Friday, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said that Russian strikes against Ukraine's infrastructure had affected at least half of the country's thermal energy generation capacity.

Kiev urgently needs missiles for Germany's IRIS-T air defense system, which was recently delivered to Ukraine, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Saturday.

"First of all, we need air defense. Germany has already supplied us with the IRIS-T system. It has been in operation for a week and has already saved many lives, especially around Kiev. Unfortunately, we only have one such system at the moment, and we are looking forward to the next delivery of ammunition, and of course the next system," Shmyhal told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, adding that he expects the next shipment in November.

The prime minister noted Ukraine's pressing need for the air defense missiles, stressing that "every day counts."

In October, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said that one out of four IRIS-T air defense systems promised to Ukraine had already been delivered, while the remaining three would arrive in 2023.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht have asked the finance ministry to disburse 2.2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in military aid for Ukraine in 2023, three times as much as it was previously planned, in a letter obtained by German newspaper Spiegel.

The letter, addressed to Finance Minister Christian Lindner, said that only a budget that large would allow Germany to shoulder the responsibilities its international partners anticipate. According to the newspaper, Baerbock and Lambrecht criticized that the budget allocated only 697 million euros for the 2023 Ukraine aid package. Both ministers urged Lindner to increase the package by 1.5 million euros, bringing the total to 2.2 billion euros, when the budget is approved in mid-November.

Sounds of explosions are heard in the Khmelnytskyi region in western Ukraine, the head of the local regional administration, Serhiy Hamaliy, said on Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that it has completed the construction of a new water pipeline to the city of Rovenky in the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR).

The ministry announced the construction of an over 40 kilometers (25 miles) long pipeline in the LPR in July to supply drinking water from the city of Molodogvardeysk.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Air raid sirens sounded in several Ukrainian regions, including Sumy, Chernigov, Poltava and Kharkov on Saturday morning, media report.