Russia launched one of its heaviest aerial attacks on Ukraine in recent months overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, firing dozens of missiles and around 130 drones at a wide range of areas across the country. At least 21 people were killed, including four children, and around 60 were wounded.
The attack took place on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday — he was born on October 7 — and officials in Kyiv said the deadly destruction was effectively a “birthday gift” for him.
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The building destroyed in Pryluky in a Russian attack, killing at least 15 people; Russian President Vladimir Putin
(Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
The attack came after weeks in which Russia stepped up its use of fast, jet-powered drones, posing a new challenge to Ukraine’s air defense system. The heaviest toll was recorded in the city of Pryluky in the Chernihiv region, about 135 kilometers (84 miles) east of Kyiv. A Russian missile struck a five-story apartment building directly, destroying large sections of it. According to updated figures released by Ukrainian authorities Wednesday afternoon, 15 people were killed at the site, including four children, and around 50 others were wounded. Rescue crews and residents spent hours digging through the rubble in an effort to find people trapped beneath it and survivors.
The missile struck the building at around 6 a.m., when many residents were still asleep. According to local authorities, two sections of the building were destroyed in the strike. A children’s and youth creative center, a factory and vehicles were also damaged in the city, while a fire broke out in an industrial area following the bombardment. Among those affected was a local police officer who was wounded, while her husband — who until recently served as a police officer on the front — and her mother were killed. Seven children were also among the wounded, including a 3-year-old girl. An 8-year-old boy was among those killed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy linked the timing of the attack to Putin’s birthday. “On Wednesday, as a ‘birthday gift’ for Putin, the Russian military destroyed a residential building in Pryluky,” he said. “The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively. This was one of the most vile attacks.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha joined in the condemnation, saying Russian generals had given Putin his “favorite birthday gift — war crimes.” He said the Russian president’s truly fitting gift would be to see him stand trial in The Hague.
The building hit in Pryluky. The missile struck at 6 a.m., when most residents were asleep
(Photo: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Extensive destruction at the site of the strike
(Photo: Genya SAVILOV / AFP)
(Photo: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
(Photo: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
(Photo: Genya Savilov / AFP)
(Photo: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
(Photo: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
(Photo: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
(Photo: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
The strike on Pryluky was part of a large-scale combined attack. Zelenskyy said Russia launched around 70 missiles in total, many of them ballistic. The Ukrainian Air Force said the attack included 48 Kh-101, Iskander-K and Kalibr cruise missiles, as well as ballistic and anti-ship missiles and 130 drones of various types, including Shahed drones. Of those, 46 were jet-powered.
According to Zelenskyy, infrastructure in Kyiv and 12 other regions came under fire. Five residential buildings were damaged in Dnipro and four in Kremenchuk. Two people were killed and seven wounded in Kremenchuk, while additional fatalities were reported in Kyiv and Oleksandriia. The bombardment forced authorities to introduce emergency power outages in five regions as repair work continued throughout Wednesday.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, air defenses managed to shoot down or disrupt 161 targets: five ballistic or other high-speed missiles of various types, 39 cruise missiles and 117 drones. Missile and drone strikes were nevertheless recorded at 18 locations across the country.
Among the areas that came under the heaviest fire were Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk. Ukraine, meanwhile, reported relative success in countering the jet-powered drones: More than 80% of the 46 such drones launched in the attack were intercepted, compared with an interception rate of around 50% to 60% in recent weeks. The greater threat for Kyiv remains ballistic missiles, which are far more difficult to intercept and require Patriot systems and additional interceptors.
The attack did not come as a complete surprise. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy warned that Ukrainian intelligence had information indicating that Russia was preparing a “massive attack” and urged residents not to ignore air raid alerts. Many Kyiv residents headed to the capital’s deep underground metro stations overnight to seek shelter. Despite the advance warning, air defense systems were unable to stop all the missiles.
” (Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Zelenskyy: 'Air defense packages are a vital need for us right now'
(Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Putin’s jet-powered drones explode on bridges in Kyiv this week
Zelenskyy particularly emphasized the difficulty of countering ballistic missiles and again called on Kyiv’s allies to provide Ukraine with additional Patriot systems and ammunition. Shortages of both have made it especially difficult for Ukraine to defend its cities.
“Russian ballistic missiles remain the greatest challenge. Air defense packages are a vital need for us right now,” he said.
Russia, for its part, confirmed that it had carried out a “massive attack” but claimed its targets were facilities connected to Ukraine’s military industry. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said it struck sites where missiles and drones are manufactured and stored, including facilities linked to Fire Point, which produces, among other weapons, Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missiles. Russia also claimed it attacked port infrastructure and shipyards in the Odesa region, as well as vessels it said were used by the Ukrainian military.
At the same time, Ukraine continued its long-range strikes inside Russia. Zelenskyy said two oil facilities and a training complex in the Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions had been attacked over the previous 24 hours. He called the strikes “a justified Ukrainian response to all Russian attacks against our people.”
Zelenskyy also released footage of an oil tanker burning in the Black Sea near Sochi. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the Russian attack, saying that “Russia is pursuing a deliberate strategy of terror” aimed at making everyday life impossible for Ukrainians.