At least 15 people were killed in overnight missile strikes across central and eastern Ukraine, a state‑official said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted the attacks as one of Russia’s “most vile”, describing the devastation in the town of Pryluky as a birthday ‘gift’ to Vladimir Putin, who turns 74 on Wednesday.
Strikes also hit Kyiv, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Zaporizhzhia and Oleksandriya. In Pryluky a five‑storey apartment block was destroyed, killing five people and injuring 26, including five children. Emergency crews are still searching for survivors trapped in the rubble.
Zelensky said Ukraine had fired back at Russian targets in Perm, Samara and Astrakhan in the past 24 hours, adding that there was also a “response in the Black Sea”. He urged allies to provide air‑defence support, noting the Ukrainian air force managed to shoot down only some of the 70 missiles fired overnight.
The attacks focused on energy infrastructure, which Moscow warned it would intensify strikes against after Ukrainian strikes on Russian power facilities. Russian officials have yet to comment on the latest salvo.
In Kyiv police posted images of an unexploded Russian Iskander missile fragment on a street, a detail confirmed by independent footage. Additional videos show collapsed structures in Pryluky and damaged cars in Kremenchuk. The Russian transport ministry has claimed unmanned boats targeted a Liberian‑flagged oil tanker in the Black Sea, although authorities say the crew were rescued.
The conflict continues to widen, with a recent drone attack on a grain‑laden vessel reported by Bulgaria and further strikes on infrastructure across Ukraine and Russia. The situation remains volatile as both sides seek to gain the upper hand in this protracted war.
