Russia Slams Ukraine With Missiles, Drones on Putin’s 74th Birthday, at Least 19 Dead

Volodymyr Ivanyshyn, Dmytro Basmat, Rebecka Pieder / Kyiv Independent

At least 22 people have been killed in yet another Russian overnight mass missile and drone attack on Ukrainian cities on Oct. 7, coinciding with Russian President Vladimir Putin's 74th birthday.

In the city of Pryluky, in Chernihiv Oblast, a Russian cruise missile hit a residential building, killing at least 18, including four children, and wounding at least 55, including seven children.

"Today, as a 'birthday gift' to Putin, the Russian army destroyed a residential building in Pryluky, in the Chernihiv region," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on social media.

"It was an ordinary five-story apartment block. There may still be people under the rubble. First responders are working nonstop at the site – doing everything possible to find every person," he added.

The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was also heavily targeted, as were the cities of Dnipro, Oleksandriya, Zaporizhzhia, and Kremenchuk in Poltava Oblast.

In Kyiv, city authorities reported that two people were killed in the Darnytskyi district of the capital.

Multiple explosions were first heard in Kyiv at around 3:15 a.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground. Ukraine's Air Force previously warned of several Russian Tu-95 bombers approaching the border.

"The missiles are falling one after another. At least 10-12 explosions from what I can count. It's pretty loud in the city center," the Kyiv Independent's Tim Zadorozhnyy reported.

Other Kyiv Independent journalists described strikes around Kyiv's Podil district with flames and smoke seen in the capital.

Explosions were again heard two hours later at 5:15 a.m. amid a second wave of missile attacks.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces used a variety of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and drones in the overnight attack.

Out of an unspecified number of ballistic missiles launched at Ukraine, five were shot down or suppressed by electronic warfare, according to the Air Force.

Thirty-nine of 48 cruise missiles were confirmed shot down or suppressed as of 10 a.m. Kyiv time, while 117 Russian attack drones were shot down or suppressed out of 130 launched.

Hits by enemy missiles and drones were recorded at 18 locations, according to the Air Force.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a strike was reported at an unspecified "non-residential area" in the Obolon District, while warehouse facilities were hit in the Podil district.

The full extent of the damage caused was not immediately clear.

Earlier, drones headed toward Ukraine's capital at 9 p.m. local time, Ukraine's Air Force reported, and an air raid alert was announced in the city shortly after, lasting from 9:09 p.m. until 9:58 p.m.

Russian missile strikes also damaged five apartment buildings in Dnipro and four high-rise buildings in Kremenchuk, Zelensky confirmed in a statement, reporting a further two people killed and eight more injured in these strikes.

While in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, transport infrastructure was damaged amid the large-scale attack, officials reported.

President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day urged citizens to take air raid alerts seriously and warned that Russia is preparing a large-scale attack on Ukraine, citing recent intelligence.

"Please, please, take care of yourself. Please respond to signals of missile danger," he said.

The latest large-scale attack comes as Putin turns 74 years old on Oct. 7. The average male life expectancy in Russia is 68 years as of 2024, according to the World Bank Group.

Russia attacked Kyiv the previous night, damaging cars, and has targeted the city's key bridges in recent days.