Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned a series of Russian missile and drone strikes targeting civilian areas, describing the attacks as deliberate acts of violence timed to coincide with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday on Wednesday.
The overnight bombardment included a ballistic missile strike on a five-story apartment building in the town of Pryluky, located in the northern Chernihiv region. The attack caused the building’s collapse, killing nine people, including three children, and injuring 38 others. Rescue teams continued to search the rubble for survivors. Video footage showed the impact of the missile, characterized by Ukrainian officials as a targeted assault on civilians.
Zelenskyy called the strikes “despicable” and accused Russia of seeking to inflict maximum human suffering. “The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively,” he said, underscoring the brutality of the attack as a symbolic “gift” to Putin. He also appealed for additional air defense resources, specifically highlighting the need for U.S.-made Patriot missile interceptors, acknowledging Ukraine’s current challenges in intercepting ballistic missiles.
The broader offensive involved 70 ballistic missiles and 46 jet-powered drones launched across eleven regions. Ukraine’s air force reported intercepting more than 80% of the drones—a marked improvement from previous weeks—but the attacks nonetheless resulted in civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. Besides Pryluky, deadly strikes were reported in Kyiv, where two people died, and in the central cities of Kremenchuk and Oleksandriia, where four civilians were killed. The city of Dnipro suffered widespread damage, with one resident describing several buildings affected by the blast wave.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha characterized the attacks as “war crimes” orchestrated by Russian military leaders as a birthday present for Putin. He insisted that Moscow’s strategy of targeting civilian populations would not force Ukraine’s capitulation, emphasizing the country’s resolve to defend its sovereignty. Sybiha further stated that the “ultimate present” would be Putin facing trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Eyewitness accounts detailed the human impact of the strikes. In Kremenchuk, a resident recounted how the attack abruptly disrupted a quiet morning, describing the moment as terrifying. In Dnipro, a business owner reported that her workshop was hit for the sixth time, suffering structural damage but vowed to rebuild and continue operations.
In parallel, Ukraine has continued its own strikes targeting Russian military and economic sites. Zelenskyy confirmed attacks on facilities in the Perm, Samara, and Astrakhan regions, including oil complexes and a training ground, framing these actions as retaliatory responses to Russian aggression.
On the maritime front, Russian officials reported that naval drones struck a Liberian-flagged oil tanker near Sochi in the Black Sea, resulting in a significant fire. The 23-member Indian crew was safely rescued. The Black Sea remains a contested space, with both sides targeting commercial shipping routes critical for Ukrainian grain exports. Earlier this week, a civilian cargo ship sank after an alleged Russian drone attack, and a second grain-carrying vessel was damaged in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. Search efforts for missing crew members from the sunken ship were halted, with officials indicating that there was little hope of finding survivors.