On the seventy-fourth birthday of Vladimir Putin, Russian missile and drone strikes across Ukraine killed twenty-five people, including five children, and left parts of Kyiv without power and water. The escalation unfolded while NATO’s Military Committee traveled to the Ukrainian capital for an official visit.
A Deadly Birthday Strike in Pryluky
The heaviest civilian toll occurred in Pryluky, in the Chernihiv region east of Kyiv. A Russian Kh-101 missile struck a five-story residential building directly, reducing sections of the structure to rubble. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the casualty figures on social media, noting that nineteen people died in Pryluky alone, among them five young children. Rescue crews spent the day sifting through the debris of the block, hunting for survivors.
Additional strikes rippled across multiple regions during the coordinated bombardment. Missile impacts damaged five residential buildings in Dnipro and four multi-story blocks in Kremenchuk, leaving two dead and eight injured. Further strikes hit Zaporizhzhia, Oleksandriya, and Kyiv, compounding damage to national energy grids and residential areas. In Kyiv, water pumping stations suffered a partial power cut, causing water supply disruptions on the right bank of the city, as noted by Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko on his Telegram channel.
Zelensky condemned the timing of the assault as an explicit message from Moscow. “Today, as a birthday gift for Putin, the Russian army destroyed a residential building in Pryluky,” Zelensky stated on social media, calling on international leaders to reject silence in the face of escalating violence. He further argued that the Russians are well aware they are hitting normal cities, and that the continuous use of missiles against people and children is a completely deliberate choice of terror, despite all efforts alongside partners to bring peace closer. The date also marks twenty years since the assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Targeting the Defense Industry and Infrastructure
Moscow defended the nighttime barrage as a tactical campaign directed at military-industrial targets. The Russian Ministry of Defence announced via Telegram that precision weapons and drones struck facilities belonging to the Fire Point enterprise, engaged in the military-industrial sector for the production and storage of Flamingo cruise missiles and long- and medium-range drones in the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, and Kharkiv, as well as port infrastructure and shipyards in the Odessa region and vessels belonging to the Ukrainian armed forces. The ministry also published a video of a Geran drone attack against a fuel depot in the seaport of Chornomorsk in the Odessa region, and reported that air defense forces intercepted and destroyed 311 fixed-wing Ukrainian drones across multiple regions and territories.
NATO’s Secret Delegation Arrives in Kyiv
Against this backdrop of intense aerial bombardments, NATO’s Military Committee arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday. Led by Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the delegation made the journey on the invitation of Ukraine’s new supreme commander of the armed forces, Mykhailo Drapatyi. The Military Committee assists and advises the North Atlantic Council, the Defense Planning Committee, and the Nuclear Planning Group, with its primary role being to provide guidance and advice on military policy and strategy.
The thirty-two military representatives representing allied commands maintained strict operational security throughout the trip, with news of the visit leaking only after the delegation reached a secure zone. Cavo Dragone emphasized that the thirty-two military representatives at the allied command brought their “unconditional” support to Ukraine. Cavo Dragone and the delegates paid formal respects at the Wall of Remembrance for those who lost their lives defending Ukraine.
Peskov Responds to French Ballistic Missile Test
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed international diplomacy during a daily press briefing.
He also commented on French President Emmanuel Macron’s test of the M51.3 strategic ballistic missile without a nuclear warhead, viewing it as a strong and clear message, while adding that Russia takes all necessary measures to guarantee national security at a strategic level while remaining open to dialogue, believing that problems should be solved through dialogue rather than demonstrative missile launches. He also stated that against the background of a growing aggressive rhetoric in Europe, “Russia is on alert and closely following all these developments.” On the conflict in Ukraine, Peskov mentioned that Moscow is “grateful” to India for its readiness to contribute to finding a solution, thanking Indian friends for their readiness and the ideas put forward.
Concurrently, the European Commission disbursed a new tranche of funding (1.24 billion) under its 90 billion loan package to bolster Ukrainian drone, missile, and ammunition manufacturing, while EU member states advanced a fresh sanctions package targeting 1,600 Russian individuals and entities.
| Metric / Event | Details |
|---|---|
| Casualties Reported | 25 dead (including 5 children), 100 injured across multiple regions |
| Primary Strike Location | Five-story residential building in Pryluky, Chernihiv region |
| NATO Delegation Head | Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone |
| Key Russian Targets | Fire Point defense enterprises and energy grids |
As recovery operations wind down in Pryluky and utility crews race to restore water and electricity to affected districts in Kyiv, the diplomatic gulf between Moscow and Western capitals widens further, leaving civilian populations to bear the immediate cost of the ongoing attrition. Il Comitato si è recato martedì a Kiev in visita ufficiale, su invito del nuovo comandante supremo delle forze armate ucraine Mykhailo Drapatyi
