The death toll from an Kh-101 Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Pryluky on Oct. 7 has risen to 19 people, according to a report by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The strike occurred at around 6 a.m. local time, hitting a five-story residential building. Rescue workers recovered the bodies of five children from the rubble.
On the morning of Oct. 7, police in the Chernihiv Region reported that Russian forces had carried out a missile strike on Pryluky. Local authorities said three sites had been hit: a multistory residential building, a children and youth creativity center, and an unidentified business. Police immediately reported deaths and injuries.
Chernihiv regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus announced:
“A missile strike on Pryluky. One of the hits was directly on a residential apartment building. In the morning, while people were still asleep.”
Chaus later said at least nine people had been killed in Pryluky, including three children. About an hour later, he updated the toll to 13 dead, including four children. Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said the youngest victim was 8 years old. President Zelensky released the latest updated count, which brought the death toll to 19, in a post on Telegram at 8 p.m. Kyiv time.
Chaus said rescue crews were continuing to clear the rubble of the five-story building, meaning the number of dead and injured could still rise. Over 50 people were known to be wounded, with three of them hospitalized in serious condition.
The strike is already the deadliest Russian attack on Ukraine in a month. The Kyiv Independent previously reported that overnight and morning strikes had killed 15 people nationwide, and after the death toll in Pryluky rose from nine to 19, the updated figure brought the national toll to 25. President Zelensky confirmed the figures:
“The total death toll from this massive strike on Ukraine stands at 25 people. One hundred people were wounded. It was a combined strike involving numerous ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and Shahed drones. This was the ‘gift’ Putin gave himself for his birthday: the murder of children, the murder of people. During the day, there were new strikes with Shahed drones and aerial bombs.”
In a previous post, Zelensky said that three of the children who died in the strike were only one year old:
“Oleksandr, Kyrylo, and Serhiy, who were only one year old, and eight-year-old Maksym. My condolences to all their families and loved ones.”
On Sept. 27, Russian attacks killed 14 people across Ukraine, while strikes on Oct. 6 killed 13. No single location had recorded as many deaths over the past month as Pryluky did on Oct. 7.
