Ukraine war: Russia attacking critical infrastructure, grenade downed Wagner plane, drone strikes

The International Rescue Committee has warned of a concerning increase in Russian strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine ahead of the upcoming winter.

"We are worryingly witnessing an increased number of attacks on critical infrastructure, even in places which had been considered relatively safe to date," said Marysia Zapasnik, IRC’s Ukraine Country Director. 

"The previously ruined homes and power grids have not been fully repaired, while intense shelling and deaths caused by landmines and other unexploded ordnance are now a daily reality."

“As temperatures plummet, Ukraine will likely suffer from intensified barrages of missile strikes, and a more widespread destruction," she continued. "The combination of ongoing conflict, destroyed infrastructure, and harsh weather conditions can make life incredibly tough for the people in affected areas."

At least 51 civilians were killed Thursday in a Russian rocket strike on a village store in Groza, eastern Ukraine, one of the deadliest attacks in recent months.  

The attack, which killed a child, happened on the sidelines of a Ukrainian soldier's funeral. 

Zelenskyy denounced the attack on the store and cafe in the village of Hroza as a “demonstrably brutal Russian crime” and “a completely deliberate act of terrorism.”

He urged Western allies to help strengthen Ukraine's air defences, saying that “Russian terror must be stopped.”

Russia's president claimed on Thursday that the plane crash which killed Yevgeny Prigozhin was caused by a hand grenade denoting.

He suggested the mercenary boss may have also been on drugs. 

Notorious Prigozhin died when his private plane crashed on 23 August, two months after he launched an abortive mutiny against the Kremlin. 

In his first