Russian missile strikes kill 20 across Ukraine as residential block collapses in Pryluky

Destruction in Pryluky

Russian forces launched a series of missile strikes against the northern Ukrainian town of Pryluky in the Chernihiv region around 06:00 local time on 7 October. A Russian missile struck a five-storey residential building, destroying apartments and burying civilians under debris. State Emergency Service personnel and regional police units launched a search operation, deploying reinforcements from neighbouring regions. By midday, emergency services confirmed that 14 people had died in Pryluky, including four children, while 50 others sustained injuries, among them seven children. Emergency teams rescued 15 people from the collapsed structure, including one child, while local authorities declared three days of official mourning. The strikes in the town also hit an industrial plant and a children and youth creativity centre.

Nationwide strikes and power grid disruptions

The strikes on Pryluky formed part of a coordinated overnight barrage that hit infrastructure across Kyiv and twelve Ukrainian regions. Explosions occurred across Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kremenchuk, and Oleksandriia after Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers took off from airbases in the Irkutsk region. Ukrainian officials confirmed two deaths in Kyiv, two in Kremenchuk, and two in Oleksandriia, bringing the nationwide death toll to at least 20 people. In Dnipro, incoming strikes damaged five residential buildings and an industrial site, while in Kremenchuk four residential buildings were hit and eight people suffered injuries. The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy scheduled emergency rolling blackouts to stabilise the power system, leaving residents in at least five regions without electricity on Wednesday morning.

Air defence engagements and weapons used

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia deployed 130 attack drones (including 46 jet-powered variants), 48 cruise missiles, and ballistic as well as anti-ship missiles during the overnight wave. Ukrainian air defence units shot down 161 targets nationwide, consisting of 117 unmanned aerial vehicles, 39 cruise missiles, and five ballistic missiles. Missile and drone impacts were confirmed at 18 locations, while falling debris caused damage at five additional sites. In the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported debris falling across four districts, with a fire in a Darnytsia district garage complex killing two people. One Russian missile fell unexploded in a densely populated residential sector of Kyiv.

Diplomatic reactions and military context

The attack occurred on Wednesday as Russian President Vladimir Putin marked his 74th birthday, prompting Ukrainian leadership to describe the operation as a deliberate symbolic assault. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes targeted civilian and energy infrastructure with approximately 70 missiles and numerous Shahed drones.

The Russians wanted to deal a painful and demonstrative blow. It was one of the most despicable attacks. Russian ballistic missiles remain the biggest challenge. And air defence support packages are now a vital necessity for us.

European Union Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova condemned the strikes following the casualties reported among sleeping civilians and children.

Mr. Putin, is this what you wanted for your birthday? People killed in their sleep, injured children, destroyed homes?

Over the preceding 24 hours, Ukrainian operations struck two Russian oil facilities and a military training ground across Perm, Samara, and Astrakhan oblasts, and set fire to a Russian tanker in the Black Sea, while the Russian Defence Ministry claimed 311 Ukrainian drones were intercepted across 16 regions.