Russian President Vladimir Putin has celebrated his 74th birthday by launching a massive wave of missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, including the capital city of Kyiv and more than a dozen other regions.
The Russian military deployed a large-scale barrage involving approximately 130 drones, 48 cruise missiles, and multiple ballistic and anti-ship missiles targeting energy, residential, and critical infrastructure.
The deadliest strike occurred in Pryluky (Chernihiv Oblast), where a Russian missile completely destroyed a 5-story residential apartment building, killing at least 10 to 14 people—including several children—and wounding dozens more.
In another place, the offensive killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of ‘massive strikes’ heading towards the city.
The capital has come under increased attack in recent weeks as winter approaches, with air raid sirens wailing nearly constantly to warn of incoming Russian strikes.
Ukrainian intelligence services had issued a warning prior to the strikes, having predicted severe attacks would take place on Putin’s birthday.
Residents hunkered down in subway stations early on Wednesday, hauling duffel bags, sleeping mats and blankets, after the military issued alerts for Kyiv and other parts of the country.
‘We grabbed our things and came here, we live right next door,’ Iryna Rybalchenko, who works in a bank, said sitting on the platform wrapped in a dark hoodie and surrounded by bags.
‘The whole of Kyiv is in a state of fear. We were stuck at work today and everyone – our group chats, our bosses – were messaging us to be careful.’
The Russian attacks have targeted energy infrastructure as well as rail and road transport, including the bridges that connect the metropolis along both sides of the Dnipro river.
