Russia launched a massive wave of missile and drone strikes across Ukraine overnight, killing at least 24 people and wounding dozens more in attacks that Ukrainian officials said deliberately coincided with President Vladimir Putin’s birthday. The strikes hit residential buildings and energy infrastructure in Kyiv, Pryluky, Kremenchuk, and several other regions, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia fired 70 missiles and 130 drones in the assault, many of them ballistic weapons that Ukrainian air defenses struggled to intercept. The strikes caused damage in 18 locations across the country, he said.
Deadly Strike on Pryluky
The heaviest casualties occurred in Pryluky, a town in the northern Chernihiv region, where a Russian missile destroyed a five-story residential building. Regional Governor Vyacheslav Chaus said 20 people died in the attack, including five children.
Rescue workers used excavators and shovels to search through the rubble for survivors. Emergency crews brought out 15 survivors from the collapsed structure, officials said. About 55 people were wounded in the town.
Danylo Savenko, the deputy mayor of Pryluky, said the destruction was concentrated in the town center. He recalled running to an air raid shelter with his wife as soon as he heard the missiles flying.
Attacks Across Multiple Regions
In Kyiv, falling debris from a drone killed two people in a suburb, according to prosecutors. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed the deaths and said additional residents were wounded.
Strikes also hit the central city of Kremenchuk, where Zelensky said two people were killed and eight wounded. Four high-rise buildings were damaged in the city. In Dnipro, missile strikes damaged five apartment buildings and killed two people, officials said.
Additional fatalities were reported in Oleksandriia, where two people died. A high-rise building in Zaporizhzhia was also damaged by a drone strike.
Russia Acknowledges Massive Strike
Russia’s defense ministry said its forces carried out a massive strike on military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions using high-precision land, sea, and air-launched weapons as well as drones.
The ministry said its targets included sites where Ukrainian defense company Fire Point manufactures and stores its Flamingo cruise missiles and medium- and long-range drones in Kyiv as well as regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, and Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s air force said it downed about 80 percent of the 46 jet-powered drones launched by Russia. The air force did not explain the increase in the interception rate compared to recent weeks, when air defenses typically took down 50 to 60 percent of such drones.
Zelensky Condemns Attack
Zelensky described the strikes as one of the most vile attacks of the war, noting that they occurred on Putin’s birthday.
This is the kind of birthday present that Putin gave himself: the killing of children, the killing of people, Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively, Zelensky said. This was one of the most vile strikes.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha also condemned the attack, writing that Russian generals presented Putin with his favorite gift — war crimes.
On Putin’s birthday, Russian generals gave him his favorite gift — war crimes, Sybiha said.
Sybiha called on international partners to tighten sanctions against Russia and increase support for Ukraine, including additional restrictions on Russia’s military-industrial complex.
Energy Infrastructure Targeted
Zelensky said one of the key targets of the Russian attack was Ukraine’s energy sector. The strikes damaged energy infrastructure as Ukraine prepares for winter, echoing previous Russian campaigns against the country’s power grid.
Ukraine received a new 1.9 billion euro tranche from the European Union on Wednesday, which Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said would be channeled toward defense needs.
Zelensky said Russian ballistic missiles remain the major challenge for Ukraine, adding that he and his team were every day looking for Patriot missile interception systems that can and must protect people’s lives.
Also Read: Russian Drone Strike on Kyiv Northern Bridge Injures Two as Capital Faces Transport Crisis.
Latest Developments
Ukrainian officials reported that rescue operations in Pryluky continued through the night, with emergency workers using ladders to reach upper floors of the damaged building and search for survivors.
The strikes came as Zelensky said Ukraine is preparing certain steps at the front and responding to every Russian strike. He noted that Ukrainian long-range capabilities have increased in both range and accuracy, with Russian oil refineries being hit practically every day or two.
