A wave of Russian strikes tore through Ukraine overnight and into the day, killing at least 28 people nationwide — among them five children who died when a missile hit an apartment building in the northern town of Pryluky.
The blast in Pryluky, in Ukraine’s Chernigiv region, blew out windows and left half of a five-storey residential block collapsed into a smouldering heap of scorched concrete and mangled metal.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said three of the children killed were just 12 months old, and another was eight.
Later in the evening, the interior ministry said rescuers recovered the body of another child from the rubble.
Ukrainian authorities said 20 people were killed in the Pryluky strike.
Seven other children were among dozens wounded, Mr Zelensky said, accusing Russia of deliberately striking “ordinary cities, ordinary life”.
“The continued use of missiles against Ukraine, against our people, our children, is an absolutely deliberate choice of terror,” he said.
“We were at home, sleeping,” resident Olena Sayun said.
“Our windows blew out. Thank God, we covered the child with our bodies. My husband got a few cuts on his back and I did too.
“The child just had a nervous breakdown, got very scared. We immediately ran to the bathroom and then, while everything in the apartment was being blown apart, we stayed in there.”
Residents said the strike hit at about 6.30am local time, coming a day after Mr Zelensky warned a “massive” Russian assault was imminent, with energy infrastructure a particular target.
Elsewhere, two people were killed when missiles hit a high-rise building in Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, and two others died in Oleksandriya, he said.
In Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said a strike sparked a fire in the densely populated Darnytskyi neighbourhood, killing two people.
Two more people were killed in later strikes, he said.
At least four children were reported to be among those killed in the Pryluky attack
Air raid sirens
As winter approaches, the capital has faced intensified bombardment, with air raid sirens sounding nearly without pause.
Through the night, anxious residents sheltered in metro stations, dragging duffel bags, sleeping mats and blankets onto platforms in preparation for another round of alarms.
“We grabbed our things and came here,” said Iryna Rybalchenko, seated on the platform in a dark hoodie, bags piled beside her.
“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.”
Russia fired at least 50 missiles and 130 drones overnight at regions including Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Poltava, according to Ukraine’s air force.
Calling it “one of the most vile strikes” of the nearly five-year conflict, Mr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces shot down some of the incoming weapons, but warned ballistic missiles remained “the greatest challenge” and that new air defences were vital.
“I don’t see any military significance in this at all,” said Yuliia Shamrai, who lives near the damaged building in Pryluky.
Rescuers work outside a damaged five-story residential building following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv
‘Absolutely terrified’
Mr Klitschko said last week that, after repeated hits on bridges and energy infrastructure, Kyiv should now treat the situation as a wartime footing.
By evening, power cuts left parts of the city dark, disrupting traffic and bringing water interruptions on the right bank of the capital.
Earlier, the air force said it had intercepted five ballistic missiles, 39 cruise missiles and more than 100 drones.
Ukraine has struggled to counter newly deployed fast-moving jet-powered drones, as well as ballistic missiles, which are more difficult to intercept.
A Ukrainian serviceman is seen handing over a rescued cat to his owner at the site of a Russian drone strike in Kyiv
Fears have also grown over mounting civilian losses on both sides, as Ukraine escalates long-range strikes against targets inside Russia.
In the Russia-occupied part of Ukraine’s Kherson region, a drone strike killed two people, including a teenage girl, the Moscow-backed head of the Russian-controlled area said in a Telegram post.
Another drone attack killed two people in a village near the Russia-annexed Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Russian-installed mayor Alexei Kulemzin said.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine’s “just responses” to Russian attacks included strikes on two oil facilities and a training ground in the Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions, as well as the Black Sea.
