Many dead - Russia attacks Ukraine on Putin's birthday

Russia hit Ukraine for the first time this fall with one of its feared combined attacks with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and combat drones. Afterwards, Ukraine suffered many deaths, dozens of injuries and serious damage.

In the city of Pryluky alone, at least 9 people were killed and 38 others were injured, according to police in the Chernihiv region. In the city about 120 kilometers east of Kiev, a five-story apartment block was hit. People are still suspected to be buried under the rubble.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack a “birthday present for Putin.” Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, who ordered the war against Ukraine, turned 74 on Wednesday. The date coincides with the 20th anniversary of the death of Kremlin-critical journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was murdered in Moscow in 2006.

The main target of the Russian attacks was the energy infrastructure, Zelensky wrote on Platform X. Ukraine fears that, as in previous winters, Russia is aiming to paralyze the energy supply. The Russian military spoke in Moscow of attacks on production facilities of the missile and drone manufacturer Fire Point in Kiev and other cities.

The Ukrainian capital was reportedly a focus of the massive airstrike. Many explosions were heard in the early hours of the morning, the Kyiv Independent portal reported. "The rockets are hitting one after the other. As far as I can count, there are at least 10 to 12 explosions. It's quite loud in the city center," said a reporter.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported at least two deaths in the morning. They were found in the rubble of garages in the eastern district of Darnytsia. Two other people were rescued there alive. In the Obolon district, buildings that are not used for residential purposes were hit. Warehouses were hit in the Podil district. Such information is deliberately kept vague.

According to Zelensky, the Russian armed forces deployed 70 ballistic and cruise missiles of various types. The Ukrainian Air Force said 39 of them had been intercepted. The industrial cities of Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Zaporizhia were also heavily shelled. Deaths were also reported in the city of Oleksandria in central Ukraine.

Ukraine has been resisting an invasion by Russian forces for over four and a half years. Zelensky spoke of counterattacks on Russian oil facilities and other targets in Perm, Samara and Astrakhin. He published a video on X of an oil tanker on the Black Sea off Sochi that caught fire the day before.