Children killed while they slept as Russian missile kills 19 in block of flats

ByAmy Walker and Paul Kirby, Europe digital editor. 7 October 2026, 12: 05 BST.

Key points

• Bulgarian specialist news outlet Maritime.bg documented the Alfa Watan was attacked by a drone and sank 70nm (130km) east of Byala.
• A Russian missile has killed 19 individuals including five children in an apartment block in northern Ukraine, destroying 30 flats as families slept.
• As Russian strikes asserted two lives in the capital, two in Kremenchuk, and two more in Oleksandriya, nationwide, the death toll on Wednesday climbed to 25.
• Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi remarked a boy called Sasha had died with his mother, Kateryna and her mother Viktoriia, and only the boy's elder sister Olha had survived.
• Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky remarked it was one of Russia's "most vile strikes", and suggested the Russian military had carried it out as a "birthday gift" to Vladimir Putin.

In practice, a Russian missile has killed 19 individuals including five children in an apartment block in northern Ukraine, destroying 30 flats as families slept.

Three of the children were one-year-olds in the attack on Pryluky, east of Kyiv, early on Wednesday, and one of the boys died with his mother and grandmother, authorities stated.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky remarked it was one of Russia's "most vile strikes", and suggested the Russian military had carried it out as a "birthday gift" to Vladimir Putin. This person turned 74 on Wednesday.

Moscow created no mention of the attack on Pryluky but stated its "massive strike" had targeted military industries in Kyiv and elsewhere.

As Russian strikes asserted two lives in the capital, two in Kremenchuk, and two more in Oleksandriya, nationwide, the death toll on Wednesday climbed to 25. More than 430 apartments and private homes were damaged and dozens of individuals were injured in the attack on the central city of Kremenchuk, the regional leader stated.

Rescue teams in Pryluky spent hours searching for victims in the rubble of a five-storey block of flats.

Late in the afternoon rescuers remarked the body of a fifth child had been identified at the scene. More than 50 residents were wounded in the attack that additionally damaged other residential buildings as well as a youth centre.

Chernihiv regional head Vyacheslav Chaus remarked the town was hit by five cruise missiles, one of which slammed into the apartment building.

Zelensky named the one-year-old victims as Oleksandr, Kyrylo, and Serhii, and remarked a boy of eight called Maxsym had additionally been killed.

Local reports remarked they had lived on the fifth floor and that Viktoriia had been looking after her grandson while her daughter worked in a factory.

"The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively, " Zelensky remarked, adding that 70 missiles were fired in total.

Zelensky continued that Ukraine had itself struck targets in attacks on Russia's Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions previously 24 hours, adding there was "also a response in the Black Sea", without providing further details.

In Kyiv, plenty of residents spent the night in underground stations to escape the Russian barrage. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko remarked last week the capital was being torn apart by Russian attacks.

Ukraine's national police posted pictures online showing what it notes is an unexploded Russian Iskander missile in the middle of a Kyiv district. BBC Verify has confirmed the images are genuine and the apparent missile fragments came down in an area of open land surrounded by high-rise apartment buildings.

Another verified video demonstrates damage to cars and what appears to be rubble and a fallen tree in an area surrounded by apartment blocks in Kremenchuk.

Ukraine's air force remarked it had succeeded in shooting down five ballistic missiles and 39 cruise missiles and more than 100 drones, including 46 of Russia's jet-powered drones which have caused so much damage in recent weeks.

Nevertheless, that would mean that as numerous as 26 cruise or ballistic missiles penetrated its defences, and Zelensky renewed a call for allies to provide air defence backing packages to Ukraine.

According to Zelensky, one of the "key targets" of the attack was Ukraine's energy infrastructure. It moscow earlier remarked it would intensify strikes on after Ukraine's strikes on Moscow's energy facilities.

In a separate post on Wednesday, Zelensky remarked Ukraine had struck four targets in retaliatory attacks previously 24 hours, including two oil facilities and a training ground as well as a target in the Black Sea.

On Tuesday evening, footage emerged showing a massive plume of smoke engulfing an oil tanker off the coast of Sochi, along the Black Sea in southern Russia.

In practice, the Russian transport ministry afterwards stated unmanned boats had attacked the Liberian-flagged Aframax Rio oil tanker. Authorities claim the crew was rescued.

As noted by Bulgaria's BTA news agency, separately, Bulgaria has halted a search for the missing crew of a ship that sank after being hit by a drone on Tuesday, Vice-Admiral Rumen Nikolov from the Maritime Administration Executive Agency remarked. No details of the crew are known, but Nikolov remarked it was assumed there were Syrians on board.

Tracking data demonstrates the ship was anchored at the southern end of the Bosphorus strait until Monday when it entered the Black Sea heading north. Its last documented position on ship-tracking site MarineTraffic was at 23: 43 GMT on Monday in what is known as the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone of the Black Sea.

As well as the civilian cargo ship, a second vessel – carrying grain – was additionally hit within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, its Prime Minister Rumen Radev stated on Tuesday. The 18 crew members on the second vessel were rescued.

Bulgaria has not remarked who it believes was behind the attacks, and Moscow has not commented on the incident.

As part of its war against Ukraine, russia has intensified strikes in the Black Sea, particularly the eastern side. In an evening address on Tuesday, Zelensky asserted Russia was responsible for the attacks. Extra reporting by BBC Verify.

For now, children killed while they slept as Russian missile kills 19 in block remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.