9 killed as a Russian airstrike hits civilian structures in Priluky, Ukraine

A Russian missile strike early on the morning of Wednesday, October 7, 2026, hit a five-story residential apartment building in the city of Pryluky (also spelled Priluky), in Chernihiv Oblast in northern Ukraine, killing at least nine people, including three children, and injuring dozens more.

Ukrainian officials reported that the attack occurred around 6:00 a.m. local time, while many residents were still asleep. The strike destroyed sections (or entrances) of the multi-story building, trapping people under the rubble. Rescue operations continued through the morning, with emergency services, police, and medics working at the scene. At least three people, including a child, were pulled alive from the wreckage.

According to Ukraine’s National Police, as of approximately 11:30 a.m., the confirmed death toll stood at nine, with the bodies of three children recovered from under the debris. Earlier reports had put the number of dead at four or five, with the figure rising as search efforts progressed. Injured numbered at least 20–30 people, including several children (reports varied between three and five injured children) and at least one police officer. The final casualty figures remained preliminary as rubble clearance continued and more people could still be trapped.

The same series of strikes also damaged a children’s and youth creativity center, an industrial enterprise, other residential buildings, and vehicles in Pryluky. Ukrainian authorities opened a criminal investigation into the attack as a war crime resulting in deaths.

The Pryluky strike formed part of a broader overnight Russian barrage involving roughly 70 missiles (many ballistic) and drones that targeted Kyiv and multiple regions across Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the attack on the ordinary residential building in Pryluky occurred on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s birthday, describing it as a “gift” of destruction from the Russian army. Overall civilian deaths from the night’s attacks across Ukraine were reported in the low double digits in initial tallies.

Rescue and recovery work in Pryluky was ongoing as of the latest updates.