Russian missile and drone barrage kills at least 28 across Ukraine, including 20 in Pryluky apartment block
Russia launched a major combined attack on Ukraine using ballistic missiles and drones on Wednesday, resulting in at least 28 deaths and hundreds of injuries across the country. The deadliest strike destroyed sections of a five-storey residential building in Pryluky, Chernihiv Oblast, killing 20 residents including five children. President Zelenskyy condemned the attack as one of Russia's most deliberate assaults on civilian targets.
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Russia conducted one of its heaviest attacks on Ukraine in recent months on Wednesday, employing both ballistic missiles and drones to strike multiple cities. Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi confirmed that the overall death toll reached 28, with hundreds more wounded across the country.
The single deadliest strike targeted a five-storey apartment building in Pryluky in the northern Chernihiv region, where a missile devastated several sections of the structure. Regional Governor Vyacheslav Chaus reported that 20 residents died in the building, including five children, whilst approximately 55 others sustained injuries. Rescue workers deployed ladders and excavators to extract 15 survivors from the wreckage, with search efforts continuing into the evening.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy characterised the Pryluky strike as one of Russia's "most vile" attacks since the war began, stating that Moscow had deliberately sought to strike "painfully and demonstratively". Additionally, falling debris from an intercepted drone killed two people in a Kyiv suburb, according to prosecutors.
Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces had struck a vessel transporting cargo for the Ukrainian military bound for the port of Odesa, alongside unspecified port infrastructure, though it provided no additional details. The attack occurred the same week that a drone strike sank a merchant ship in Bulgarian waters of the Black Sea, leading Bulgaria's president to attribute deteriorating Black Sea security directly to Russia's war against Ukraine.
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