At least 24 people were killed and 134 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine in the past 24 hours, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing Ukrainian authorities. Rescue teams continued searching a destroyed apartment building in Pryluky.
Ukrainian authorities said 14 people, including four children, were killed in Pryluky in Chernihiv region. Another 50 people were injured, including seven children. A missile hit a five-storey apartment building at about 6 a.m., when many residents were still asleep. Two entrances were destroyed, and rescuers and residents searched the rubble.
Casualties were also reported elsewhere. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said people had been killed in Kyiv, Kremenchuk and Oleksandriia. The Kyiv Independent reported that a munition struck a garage cooperative in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district. Two people were killed and 34 injured in Kremenchuk. The reported toll changed as rescue work continued.
Ukraine said Russia used ballistic, cruise and anti-ship missiles as well as drones. The Ukrainian Air Force said 130 attack drones were launched. Air defences shot down or suppressed 117 of them and 39 of 48 cruise missiles. Missile and drone impacts were recorded at 18 locations.
Zelenskyy said Kyiv and 12 other regions came under attack. Emergency power cuts were introduced in five regions, while repair work continued through the day. Ukraine’s military said ballistic missiles remained the hardest threat to intercept and again urged allies to provide Patriot air-defence systems and ammunition.
The Ukrainian president linked the timing of the attack to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday, calling the destruction of the Pryluky apartment building a “birthday gift.” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also accused Russian commanders of giving Putin his “favourite birthday present — war crimes.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed a large overnight strike. It said the targets were military-industrial facilities involved in producing and storing missiles and drones, as well as port infrastructure and ship-repair facilities in Odesa region. Those claims have not been independently verified.
Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian forces struck two oil facilities and a training ground in Russia’s Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the Russian attack, saying Moscow was pursuing a strategy intended to make daily life impossible for Ukrainians.