Four children are among at least 24 civilians killed in a Russian blitz on war-torn Ukraine on Vladimir Putin’s birthday. Moscow’s drones and missiles pounded Kyiv and other regions overnight into Wednesday, wounding dozens of people.
Residential block destroyed in Pryluky
The attack, which coincided with the Russian president’s 74th birthday, included destroying a residential block. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Today, as a birthday ‘gift’ to Putin, the Russian army destroyed a residential building in Pryluky, in the Chernihiv region. It was an ordinary five-storey apartment building.”
The attack on the apartment block in Pryluky, in Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region, was said to have killed 18 people, including the four children, and wounding about 50. The Ukrainian president said among the dead were three children aged one and an eight-year-old.
Zelensky condemns 'deliberate choice of terror'
Mr Zelensky, who offered his condolences to families, said: “The Russians know very well that they are striking ordinary cities, ordinary life. And the continued use of missiles against Ukraine, against our people, our children, is an absolutely deliberate choice of terror.
“This is what Moscow chooses – despite all our efforts with partners to bring peace closer. And this is a clear reason why more pressure on Russia is needed and why Ukraine needs more defense packages. It is important that leaders understand this. It is important that the world not remain silent today.”
Deaths reported in other cities
Deaths were also reported in three other Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, according to Mr Zelensky. In Kremenchuk, in the Poltava region, two people were killed and seven injured, according to Vitalii Diakivnych, the head of the regional military administration. He said: "That is exactly what the enemy is counting on. For us to be afraid to fall asleep. To let our children out of our sight. To plan anything. So that everyone thinks: next time it could be my address."
Russia's Defence Ministry said the military carried out a massive strike overnight into Wednesday targeting industrial facilities involved in the production and storage of missiles and drones across Ukraine. The ministry said that port and ship repair facilities in the southern Odesa region and ships carrying cargo for the Ukrainian military were also hit.
Ukraine strikes back at Russian oil facilities
Ukraine hit back at Russia by launching long-range drones and missiles at oil refineries and storage depots. Mr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Ukraine targeted two oil facilities and a training ground in the Perm, Samara, and Astrakhan regions of Russia. Mr Zelensky also indicated that Ukraine had struck in the Black Sea. He posted images of a fire said to show an oil tanker burning in the water near the Russian city of Sochi.
More than four-and-a-half years after Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine is looking worldwide for available Patriot missiles, which are in short supply due to the Iran war.
