Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia’s military of deliberately killing civilians and bombing residential buildings as a macabre gift for Vladimir Putin, who celebrates his 74th birthday on Wednesday. Ukraine’s president described Russia’s overnight drone and missile strikes, which killed at least 15 people, as “despicable”. “The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively,” he said. Video showed a ballistic missile slamming into a five-storey apartment block in the town of Pryluky in the northern Chernihiv region. The concrete building collapsed, entombing those inside. Nine people died, including three children, officials said, with 38 people injured. Rescuers picked through the rubble in an attempt to find survivors. “Today, on Putin’s birthday, the Russian army ‘presented’ him with the destruction of a residential block in Pryluky. It was an ordinary five-storey block of flats,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. He acknowledged that Ukraine was struggling to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles, and appealed to allies to provide US-manufactured Patriot interceptors. “Air defence packages for us right now are a vital necessity,” he said. View image in fullscreen People carry a casualty after the attack on Pryluky. Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters The bombardment featured 70 ballistic missiles, as well as 46 jet-powered drones, which in recent weeks have been terrorising Ukrainians on a daily basis. Ukraine’s air force said it managed to down just over 80% of the fast-moving drones – an improvement on the previous average of 50% to 60%. Eleven regions were hit. Two people were killed in Kyiv, with other deadly strikes in the central cities of Kremenchuk and Oleksandriia, where four civilians died. There was also extensive damage in Dnipro. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Russian generals had given Putin his favourite birthday present: “war crimes”. Moscow’s grim strategy of bombarding the country’s population so it capitulated would not work, he said. “The Ukrainian people are not going to give up, because it’s about Ukraine’s survival as a nation and as a state,” he said. The “ultimate” present would be a dock in The Hague, home to the international criminal court, where the Russian president would stand trial, Sybiha said. ‘The enemy is tearing our city apart’: terror in Kyiv as Russia ramps up attacks Read more One resident in Kremenchuk said the attack happened early on Wednesday. The woman told Ukrainian media: “We were making tea in the morning. My husband was getting ready for work. And that was it. I found myself on the floor. What can I say? It was very scary.” Local people in Dnipro said a blast wave affected 16 buildings, blowing out doors and windows. One woman, Iryna, said her auto parts workshop had been hit for the sixth time. The ceiling collapsed in Wednesday’s strike, she said, with toilets, sinks and equipment damaged. “The explosion happened around three in the morning. We were sleeping at home. Everyone was scared, probably the whole city heard it. We will restore the shop and continue to work,” she told the Suspline channel. Zelenskyy said Ukraine had carried out its own long-range strikes on economic and military sites inside Russia. They included two oil complexes and a training ground in the Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions. “These are justified Ukrainian responses to all Russian attacks on our people,” he said. The president posted dramatic video of a burning oil tanker close to the southern resort city of Sochi. Russian officials said naval drones had hit the Liberian-flagged ship, adding that “crude oil was burning openly on the Black Sea”. Its Indian crew of 23 was rescued, they said. Both sides have heavily targeted commercial shipping around the Black Sea since Putin’s full-scale invasion in 2022. In recent weeks Russia has picked off vessels carrying Ukrainian grain, paralysing maritime traffic from Ukraine’s southern ports including Odesa. Earlier this week, a civilianA cargo ship sank in the Black Sea after a suspected Russian drone attack, and its crew is still missing. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said a second vessel carrying grain was also hit while sailing in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone. Vice-Admiral Rumen Nikolov of the Maritime Administration Executive Agency said the search for survivors was called off on Wednesday. “There are no traces of the sailors from the first ship, and there will be none,” he said.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the reported attack in Kryvyi Rih and the context surrounding it
What happened in Kryvyi Rih
On July 31 2023 a Russian missile hit a residential apartment building in Kryvyi Rih Ukraine At least six people were killed and dozens were injured
Why is this being called a birthday gift for Putin
The strike happened on the same day as Vladimir Putins birthday Ukrainian officials said Russia timed the attack as a brutal symbolic gesture for him
Who said it was a birthday gift
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials made that statement Russia has not commented on that specific claim
Where is Kryvyi Rih
It is a city in central Ukraine It is President Zelenskyys hometown
What kind of building was hit
A multistory apartment block It was a civilian residential building not a military target
Did Russia admit to the attack
Russia has not directly claimed responsibility for this specific strike Russia often denies targeting civilians despite widespread evidence of such attacks
How many people were hurt or killed
Initial reports said at least six people died and more than 75 were injured Rescue workers searched the rubble for survivors
Was this the first attack on Kryvyi Rih
No The city has been hit multiple times since Russias fullscale invasion began in February 2022
Why does Russia attack apartment buildings
Russia says it targets military infrastructure Ukraine and independent observers say Russia deliberately strikes civilian areas to terrorize the population and break morale
What is a doubletap strike
It is a tactic where a second missile hits the same location shortly after the first often targeting rescue workers and first responders Ukraine has accused Russia of using this tactic
How does Ukraine respond to these attacks
Ukraine documents the attacks as war crimes calls for more air defense systems from allies and continues military operations against Russian forces
What can people do to help
Donate to trusted humanitarian organizations working in Ukraine support Ukraines air defense through official fundraising campaigns and share verified information to counter disinformation
What does war crime mean in this context
Under international law deliberately attacking civilians or civilian infrastructure is a war crime Ukraine and its allies say these strikes fit that definition
