Russian missile destroys apartment building in Ukraine, at least 18 dead

Russia launched one of its heaviest offensives of recent months against Ukraine on Wednesday. The latest toll is at least 25 dead nationwide.

Most of the victims, 18 people, were in an apartment building in Pryluky, a city in northern Ukraine, that was hit by a missile. AFP journalists on the scene saw rescue workers searching through the rubble of the building and evacuating the bodies of victims.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in the evening the toll of 18 dead in the building, including four children: Oleksandr, Kyrylo and Serhii, who were one year old, and Maksym, eight years old. On X, he wrote that "i russi sanno benissimo che stanno colpendo città normali, la vita quotidiana" ("the Russians know very well that they are hitting ordinary cities, everyday life"). According to rescuers, at least 55 people were injured, including seven children.

Attack on several fronts

Zelensky called the offensive "one of the most despicable attacks", citing a total of 70 missiles fired, many of them ballistic and therefore harder to intercept, as well as drones directed at 12 regions of the country. According to the president, energy infrastructure was among the main targets.

The attack has fuelled fears that last winter's scenario could repeat itself, when Russia repeatedly bombed Ukraine's energy facilities, leaving millions of families without light or heating. Restrictions on energy consumption are already in force in Kyiv. Zelensky asked allies for more systems to intercept ballistic missiles.

The president also reported two deaths in Oleksandria and two in Kremenchuk, cities in central Ukraine, as well as two further victims in Kyiv, where a third person was killed in the evening. The day before the attack, Zelensky had warned of the risk of a massive offensive against the capital, which has been under relentless attack for weeks.

Russia's Defence Ministry said in Moscow that the army had struck factories in Kyiv and its region, in Pryluky and in Kremenchuk, that assemble and store cruise missiles, including the Ukrainian-made Flamingo, as well as long-range drones.