Russia launched one of its largest overnight barrages of the war, firing 130 drones and 48 cruise and ballistic missiles at targets across a dozen Ukrainian regions, killing at least 24 civilians nationwide — a toll later counts put at 26 — with 18 to 20 people killed in the destroyed five-story apartment block in Pryluky, where reports differ on whether four or five children died [2][4][8][14][27]. Drone strikes on commercial vessels in the Black Sea separately sank a cargo ship off Bulgaria's coast and killed a crew member aboard a second vessel [13][24].

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian army destroyed an ordinary five-story apartment building in Pryluky as a "birthday gift" to Putin on his 74th birthday, calling the strikes "an absolutely deliberate choice of terror" [4][24]. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russia is pursuing "a deliberate strategy of terror" aimed at making daily life impossible for Ukrainians [8][9]. UN Humanitarian Coordinator Matthias Schmale said civilians and essential infrastructure are protected under international humanitarian law and demanded that the pattern of harm end [18]. Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets called the bombardment "another act of terror" [21].

The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces carried out a "massive strike" with high-precision weapons and drones on military-industrial facilities, including sites where the company Fire Point manufactures and stores Flamingo cruise missiles and drones, as well as port and ship-repair infrastructure in Odesa used by Ukraine's armed forces [21][28][42]. The ministry said civilian targets were never attacked [7].

Eyewitnesses in Pryluky rejected any military rationale for the strike [4]. Yuliia Shamrai, a Pryluky resident, said she saw no military significance in the strike on the building near her home [4]. Olena Sayun described being asleep when the blast blew out the windows, saying she and her husband covered their child with their bodies [4]. In Kyiv, bank worker Iryna Rybalchenko said "Todo Kiev vive con miedo" (All of Kyiv lives in fear) after sheltering in a metro station [25]. Resident Lesia said she shelters in the metro because "it's really scary when you're on the ninth floor and missiles are flying at you" [28].

Drone strikes on two commercial vessels in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone killed a steward and wounded seven aboard a Marshall Islands-flagged ship, while a Togo-flagged vessel sank with its crew missing [13][24]. Bulgarian authorities ended search operations after confirming no survivors [21][24]. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev called the attacks absolutely unacceptable and a gross violation of international law that raises insurance costs and complicates maritime transport [13][45]. Zelenskyy said a joint Ukrainian-Bulgarian investigation concluded the strikes were a Russian combined drone attack and that Ukraine conducted no operations in the area [13][41].

A separate naval drone strike set a Liberian-flagged tanker ablaze near Sochi, with all 23 Indian crew members rescued, according to Russian officials [24][49]. India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar condemned attacks on civilian ships as completely unacceptable and said dialogue and diplomacy are the only path to resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict [51]. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry confirmed that the captain of the cargo ship Royal Mamedov, 52-year-old Rustam Hasanov, was killed in a drone attack off the Romanian coast [52].

UN, EU and Turkish officials warned that the disruption of Black Sea shipping threatens global food security [53]. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said Russia's actions have nearly halted Black Sea commercial traffic and stressed that food must never be used as a weapon [53]. Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said Ukrainian Black Sea port handling capacity has fallen by 93 percent [53]. The World Food Programme's Rania Dagash-Kamara said about 266 million people are severely food insecure and disruptions across key maritime corridors could push tens of millions more into hunger [53]. Market data showed Black Sea freight rates more than doubling over ten weeks as strikes on ports and vessels became the dominant price signal [44].

Zelenskyy said Russian ballistic missiles remain the greatest challenge and that air defence packages are a vital necessity [8][20]. Poland scrambled military aviation and placed ground air defences on high alert [26]. Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced Patriot batteries would be stationed in the Lublin region [13][25], and Swedish Patriots and Gripens were deployed to protect the NATO logistics hub at Rzeszów [25]. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a 102.4 billion zloty civil defence programme for 2027-2031 [13]. EU ambassadors met behind closed doors to prepare for scenarios of Russian hybrid attacks producing mass casualties [30]. Danish intelligence alleged Russia has conducted sabotage operations against Danish defence firms supplying Ukraine [38].

Russian officials framed the moment as one of defensive vigilance [3][19]. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is monitoring NATO's "war preparations" and keeping its guard up [3]. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported around 650 drones in a Ukrainian attack on the Moscow region, while Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov reported two people killed and nine injured [19][48]. Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on terrorism charges [48]. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces hit two oil facilities, a training ground and Black Sea targets in response to the Russian strikes, describing them as justified replies to attacks on civilians [21][32]. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Moscow's strategy of bombarding the population to force capitulation will not work and that "the Ukrainian people are not going to give up" [24].

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pressed Putin to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and reiterated his offer to facilitate direct talks between Russia and Ukraine [21][27]. Separately, the Kremlin dismissed most media reports about a suspected pneumonic plague case in Irkutsk as "false information," while the WHO, the US and the EU demanded transparent information sharing under international health regulations [6][17][23]. A coalition of 32 countries marked the 20th anniversary of journalist Anna Politkovskaya's assassination by demanding accountability for those who ordered her murder and an end to the persecution of journalists in Russia [29].

Ukraine's national grid operator Ukrenergo reported new blackouts in five regions after the strike, with power-restriction schedules in effect [47]. Zelenskyy said intelligence indicated Russia was preparing a new large-scale attack, with Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers airborne [26]. The EU disbursed a 1.2 billion euro defence tranche for Ukrainian drones and missiles [14][27].