Russia’s Putin Birthday Attack on Ukraine Kills 28, Including Five Children, Ukrainian Minister Says

Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine on October 7 killed 28 people, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivsky said. Twenty died in the northern city of Pryluky, where a missile struck a five-story apartment building; five of those killed were children. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the destruction as a birthday “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who turned 74 on Wednesday. The phrase was Zelenskyy’s condemnation of the attack, not an independently established motive for its timing.

What happened in Pryluky?

A Russian cruise missile struck Pryluky in the Chernihiv region on Wednesday morning, destroying part of an apartment building while residents were inside, according to regional authorities. Emergency crews spent the day searching the wreckage. By the evening, regional administration head Viacheslav Chaus reported 20 people killed and 55 injured, including seven children among the wounded.

Three of the children killed were one year old, Ukrainian officials said. Rescue workers continued clearing debris after the death toll rose throughout the day. Other buildings, a youth activity center and a business in Pryluky were also damaged, according to regional authorities.

Vyhivsky said rescuers and police had brought 29 people to safety during operations across the affected areas, most of them in Pryluky. The continuing search meant casualty figures could change.

Where else did Russia strike?

Ukraine’s interior minister named Pryluky, Kyiv, Kremenchuk and Oleksandriia among the places where people died in the October 7 attacks. Officials reported two deaths in Kremenchuk, in the Poltava region. Kyiv was struck in several waves, and residential buildings were damaged in multiple cities.

The assault began on the evening of October 6 and continued into Wednesday. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched cruise and ballistic missiles alongside 130 drones of several types, including jet-powered attack drones and decoys. In its morning assessment, the air force said it had intercepted or brought down 161 aerial targets, while recording strikes at 18 locations. Those figures covered its assessment at that point; attacks and rescue operations continued later in the day.

Zelenskyy said energy infrastructure was a major target and renewed his appeal for additional air-defense supplies, particularly protection against ballistic missiles. Ukrainian officials had warned on Tuesday that Russia appeared to be preparing a large-scale attack, but the warning did not prevent casualties.

Why did Zelenskyy call it a birthday “gift”?

Putin’s birthday fell on October 7, the day of the strikes. Zelenskyy used the “gift” description when denouncing the destruction of the Pryluky apartment building and later referred to the killing of children and other civilians in a video address. Ukrainian officials have portrayed the attack as a stark sign that Moscow intends to keep escalating the war.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its overnight operation targeted facilities connected to Ukrainian missile and drone production, as well as other military-related sites. That account does not change the reported civilian toll or the damage to homes. The claim that the strikes were intended as a birthday present is Zelenskyy’s characterization; their timing alone does not establish why Russian commanders ordered them.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. More than four and a half years later, long-range attacks remain a danger far from the front line. In Pryluky, the immediate task on Wednesday evening was still to account for everyone who had been inside the destroyed building.