Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 604
Al JazeeraHere is the situation on Friday, October 20, 2023. The Ukrainian military said Russian forces carried out new air attacks in eastern, southern and northern Ukraine using 17 different weapons – including ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones – on industrial and civilian infrastructure as well as military targets. Russia’s defence ministry said it scrambled two Su-27 fighter jets to prevent three United Kingdom military planes – a reconnaissance plane accompanied by two fighters – as they approached Russian airspace over the Black Sea. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said the government’s priorities next year included accumulating funds for defence and security, and securing social payments for the population “to bring Ukraine’s victory closer”. Politics and diplomacy United States President Joe Biden “underscored the continued strong bipartisan support in the United States for Ukraine’s defence of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and democratic future,” the White House said after the US leader spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.