At least 24 people were killed in Russian attacks across Ukraine, including 18 who died when a residential building in the northern town of Pryluky was struck, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Children were among the victims after Russia launched waves of missiles and drones in what Mr Zelensky described as one of the war’s most “vile strikes”. He also noted that the attack came on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s birthday.
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“Today, as a birthday ‘gift’ to Putin, the Russian army destroyed a residential building in Pryluky…,” Mr Zelensky said.
“The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively. This was one of the most vile strikes: 70 missiles in total, many of them ballistic.”
Emergency crews climbed ladders to reach the upper floors of the damaged building, or what was left of it. Regional officials said about 50 people were injured, including seven children.
Big jump in reported drone interceptions
Mr Zelensky said six more people had been killed in Kyiv, Oleksandria and Kremenchuk during the intense overnight bombardment.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had conducted a “massive strike” against military-industrial sites in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions, deploying precision weapons launched from land, sea and air, along with drones.
Ukraine’s air force said it had intercepted slightly more than 80% of the 46 jet-powered drones Russia sent into the country — a notable rise from recent weeks, when air defences had brought down an average of 50% to 60%.
Since the summer, Russia has increased its use of the newer high-speed drones in around-the-clock attacks on Kyiv and other cities, putting Ukraine’s air-defence systems under pressure because of their speed.
The air force offered no explanation for the higher interception rate and did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr Zelensky said ballistic missiles fired by Russia remained Ukraine’s greatest challenge. He added that he and his team were “every day looking for Patriot (missile interception) systems that can and must protect people’s lives”.
At least four children were reported to be among those killed in the Pryluky attack
Last week, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine had used its first domestically produced ballistic missile in combat. The weapon was made by Fire Point.
He said he expected the company to complete a longer-range FP-9 missile by autumn. Fire Point has said the missile will be capable of reaching Moscow.
Ukraine also struck two Russian oil facilities and a training ground in the Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions, Mr Zelensky said.
“These are justified Ukrainian responses to all Russian attacks on our people,” he said in a post on the Telegram app.
Many people in Kyiv sought refuge in the city’s deep underground metro stations after Ukrainian officials and military intelligence warned that attacks were imminent.
Witnesses reported hearing several powerful explosions across the capital during the night.
“The metro is better, because we live on the ninth floor of a high-rise, and it’s really scary when you’re on the ninth floor and missiles are flying at you,” Lesia, a Kyiv resident, said.
Ukrainian officials said ballistic missiles had been aimed at Kyiv alongside the drone attack.
Ukraine has faced a severe shortage of air-defence systems for months, leading Mr Zelensky and other officials to make repeated appeals for international assistance and additional supplies.
Overnight strikes on the south-eastern city of Dnipro damaged an industrial site, while transport infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia and apartment blocks in Kremenchuk were also hit, regional officials said on Telegram.
Bulgaria halts search for crew of ship sunk by drone strike
Crew members from one of the vessels struck by drones arriving at the port of Varna after being rescued
Bulgaria has called off its search for the missing crew of a ship that sank after a drone strike about 70 nautical miles from the country’s coast, Vice-Admiral Rumen Nikolov of the Maritime Administration Executive Agency told Nova TV today.
Two vessels were attacked by drones early yesterday in Bulgaria’s Black Sea exclusive economic zone. One sank and the other sustained damage. The crew of the damaged ship were rescued, but those aboard the sunken vessel remain unaccounted for.
Mr Nikolov said the operation to find the crew of the sunken ship would not restart today.
“There are no traces of the sailors from the first ship, and there will be none. There is also no information about drone remains,” he said.
“A boat, three life rafts and parts of the ship’s equipment have been found.”
It remained unclear who launched the attack, which involved aerial and maritime drones in waters near Byala on Bulgaria’s eastern coast. The incident has nevertheless heightened concern over possible Russian hybrid attacks linked to the war in Ukraine.
Mr Nikolov said the strike took place within a so-called “responsible search and rescue zone”, rather than Bulgaria’s territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles from the shoreline.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said yesterday that it was not clear whether the drones had come from Russia or Ukraine, the BTA news agency reported.
Bulgaria shares no border with either country, but its NATO membership gives it a strategically important position on the Black Sea, where Russia and Ukraine both operate major ports.
In a nightly video address, Mr Zelensky said a joint investigation with Bulgaria’s navy had concluded that Russia was responsible for the attack.
Mr Radev said today that his government would approve the purchase of five additional surface-to-air missile systems in response to the incident.
