Not fewer than 12 people have been killed and more than 40 others injured after Russia launched a major overnight missile and drone assault on Ukraine as President Vladimir Putin marked his 74th birthday.
The attack targeted Kyiv and more than a dozen other Ukrainian regions early Wednesday, October 7, with Ukrainian officials reporting damage to residential buildings and critical infrastructure.
One of the deadliest incidents occurred in Pryluky, in the northern Chernihiv region, where a Russian missile destroyed an apartment building, killing nine people, including three children, according to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.
Two other people were killed in Kremenchuk, while deaths were also reported in Kyiv and other parts of the country.
The attack came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Tuesday that intelligence indicated Russia was preparing a “massive” strike. Despite the warning, Ukraine’s air defences were unable to intercept all of the incoming missiles and drones.
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed that its forces had carried out what it described as a “massive strike”, saying military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and several other regions were targeted.
Moscow said the strikes included facilities involved in the production and storage of missiles and drones, as well as port and ship-repair infrastructure in the Odesa region.
Zelenskyy, however, said energy infrastructure was among the key targets and renewed his appeal for additional air-defence systems, particularly Patriot missiles.
The Ukrainian president said Russia’s ballistic missiles remained one of the country’s biggest challenges as Kyiv seeks to protect its cities and critical infrastructure.
The strikes coincided with Putin’s 74th birthday on Wednesday, adding significance to an already intense period in the four-and-a-half-year-old war.
Ukraine also launched retaliatory attacks on Russian territory, with Zelenskyy saying Ukrainian forces targeted oil facilities and a military training ground in several Russian regions. Russian officials had not immediately commented on the claims.
The latest escalation comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled, while Ukraine continues to seek greater military and air-defence support from its Western allies.
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