Zelensky condemns "vile" Russian attacks that killed 15
In a furious statement, Ukraine’s president called the overnight drone and missile barrage the "most vile" attack Russia has ever mounted. 15 people, including children, lost their lives across several Ukrainian cities as 70 missiles, drones and aerial bombs rained down on residential and energy infrastructure.
The most devastating hit came on a five‑storey building in Pryluky, Chernihiv. First responders found 5 dead and 26 injured, including five children. Local police later discovered three more child bodies, raising the death toll to nine.
Other reports say Russian missiles damaged five apartment blocks in Dnipro and four high‑rise structures in Kremenchuk, killing two people in each city. Kyiv also suffered two fatal blasts, with the Ukrainian police website uploading a photograph of an unexploded Iskander missile fragment in a residential district. The video shows a frantic search team at a collapsed Pryluky building, while damaged cars and broken trees populate footage from Kremenchuk.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s night‑time offensive hit Russian energy and industrial sites, as a direct retaliation. He noted that Ukrainian forces have struck four target points in Russia’s Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions in the past 24 hours, and added that a further response has been launched in the Black Sea. Footage captured a smoke plume that engulfed an oil tanker off the Sochi coast, confirming Russian maritime attacks that also involved drone‑strikes on a grain carrier.
The president repeats his plea for continued and increased air‑defence aid from international partners, citing that Ukrainian intercepts managed to shoot down only a part of the 70‑missile bombardment.
Despite the escalating attacks, Moscow remains silent on the latest strikes. As the war drags on, Ukraine’s leadership urges more resilient defence and immediate international assistance.
