Russian barrage kills at least 24 across Ukraine on Putin's birthday Houthi strikes on Saudi and Aden airports kill three foreigners in Saudi Arabia Tanker attacks in Hormuz hit weekly high as US and Iran dispute control of strait Global bond selloff resumes as US 30-year yield reaches highest since 2002 IMF warns energy prices will stay high as IEA speeds oil stock release Eritrean troops reported inside northern Ethiopia as ties collapse Tanker burns off Sochi as Bulgaria ends search for sunken ship's crew Kenya traces contacts after first Ebola death exposes screening gaps US and WHO press Russia for details on suspected plague death Yemen displacement passes 200,000 as UN agencies warn of hunger Thai flood toll climbs to at least 52 as new storms loom French bond yields rise again as central bank chief rules out ECB help France suspends stun grenades at student protests as unrest spreads to Belgium EU-China trade talks open after Beijing rejects voluntary hybrid curbs Turkey sends defensive support to Saudi Arabia while Syria denies joining Houthi fight SpaceX credit risk hits record after $40bn chip-financing report Ex-BND chief Hanning in custody as allies review shared intelligence Christa Pike wakes and speaks after surviving Tennessee lethal injections Israel marks three years since Hamas attack as strikes hit Gaza Mathematicians question vetting after OpenAI publishes hundreds of claimed results India's central bank raises rates for the first time since 2023 EU ambassadors agree largest-ever expansion of Russia sanctions list Shiroka-Pula takes office as Kosovo president while EU voices concern over court law Iraq devalues dinar as Hormuz disruption hits oil exports Hungary lifts veto as EU opens two negotiating clusters with Ukraine and Moldova Israeli forces raid West Bank towns and smash memorials as settlers attack home Lithuania to deploy army at Kaliningrad border as Denmark accuses Russia of sabotage US forces on Okinawa put under curfew after Marine arrested over woman's killing Flávio Bolsonaro vows constitutional reform ahead of Brazil runoff as US Democrats question visa revocation Shell expects record refining margins as Iran war reshapes fuel markets AfD lawmaker elected Saxony-Anhalt parliament president, rattling Merz's coalition China opens pilot training base in Laos Probes widen after flydubai hijacking attempt Eviction symbol Maricarmen dies as Spanish unions call general strike Paramount Skydance completes Warner Bros. Discovery takeover Germany blocks Cosco takeover of Hamburg port logistics firm Hackers used Chinese AI tool against South Korean banks; Qilin suspect held in Germany African Union launches continent's first credit rating agency UK consulate in East Jerusalem prepares to close Porsche plans to cut 25% of workforce and shift to pricier cars Newsom condemns Trump's remark that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles Finland orders Google to halt work at data centre sites Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing visits Malaysia amid concerns over Rohingya returns Izmir mayor joins Erdoğan's party First working nuclear clocks unveiled by Chinese and European teams Indonesian wildfire haze makes Singapore's air the world's worst Oman evacuates injured crew from attacked tanker in Hormuz ChatGPT for Teens judged an 'unacceptable risk' to children NATO military committee visits Kyiv Libya's eastern parliament removes speaker Saleh after 12 years Japan to cut hundreds of stocks from Topix in record revamp Russian barrage kills at least 24 across Ukraine on Putin's birthday Houthi strikes on Saudi and Aden airports kill three foreigners in Saudi Arabia Tanker attacks in Hormuz hit weekly high as US and Iran dispute control of strait Global bond selloff resumes as US 30-year yield reaches highest since 2002 IMF warns energy prices will stay high as IEA speeds oil stock release Eritrean troops reported inside northern Ethiopia as ties collapse Tanker burns off Sochi as Bulgaria ends search for sunken ship's crew Kenya traces contacts after first Ebola death exposes screening gaps US and WHO press Russia for details on suspected plague death Yemen displacement passes 200,000 as UN agencies warn of hunger Thai flood toll climbs to at least 52 as new storms loom French bond yields rise again as central bank chief rules out ECB help France suspends stun grenades at student protests as unrest spreads to Belgium EU-China trade talks open after Beijing rejects voluntary hybrid curbs Turkey sends defensive support to Saudi Arabia while Syria denies joining Houthi fight SpaceX credit risk hits record after $40bn chip-financing report Ex-BND chief Hanning in custody as allies review shared intelligence Christa Pike wakes and speaks after surviving Tennessee lethal injections Israel marks three years since Hamas attack as strikes hit Gaza Mathematicians question vetting after OpenAI publishes hundreds of claimed results India's central bank raises rates for the first time since 2023 EU ambassadors agree largest-ever expansion of Russia sanctions list Shiroka-Pula takes office as Kosovo president while EU voices concern over court law Iraq devalues dinar as Hormuz disruption hits oil exports Hungary lifts veto as EU opens two negotiating clusters with Ukraine and Moldova Israeli forces raid West Bank towns and smash memorials as settlers attack home Lithuania to deploy army at Kaliningrad border as Denmark accuses Russia of sabotage US forces on Okinawa put under curfew after Marine arrested over woman's killing Flávio Bolsonaro vows constitutional reform ahead of Brazil runoff as US Democrats question visa revocation Shell expects record refining margins as Iran war reshapes fuel markets AfD lawmaker elected Saxony-Anhalt parliament president, rattling Merz's coalition China opens pilot training base in Laos Probes widen after flydubai hijacking attempt Eviction symbol Maricarmen dies as Spanish unions call general strike Paramount Skydance completes Warner Bros. Discovery takeover Germany blocks Cosco takeover of Hamburg port logistics firm Hackers used Chinese AI tool against South Korean banks; Qilin suspect held in Germany African Union launches continent's first credit rating agency UK consulate in East Jerusalem prepares to close Porsche plans to cut 25% of workforce and shift to pricier cars Newsom condemns Trump's remark that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles Finland orders Google to halt work at data centre sites Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing visits Malaysia amid concerns over Rohingya returns Izmir mayor joins Erdoğan's party First working nuclear clocks unveiled by Chinese and European teams Indonesian wildfire haze makes Singapore's air the world's worst Oman evacuates injured crew from attacked tanker in Hormuz ChatGPT for Teens judged an 'unacceptable risk' to children NATO military committee visits Kyiv Libya's eastern parliament removes speaker Saleh after 12 years Japan to cut hundreds of stocks from Topix in record revamp

Symbolic image: Russian barrage kills at least 24 across Ukraine on Putin's birthday

Symbolic image

Russian barrage kills at least 24 across Ukraine on Putin's birthday

12 sources

Russian missiles and drones struck Ukraine overnight into Wednesday, killing at least 24 people. Kyiv says the destruction of an apartment block in Pryluky was a 'birthday gift' to Vladimir Putin.

The attack came hours after Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Tuesday of an imminent large-scale strike, and hit on Wednesday, 7 October, when Putin turned 74. By evening Zelensky spoke of 25 dead and more than 100 injured. In Pryluky, in the Chernihiv region, a missile destroyed a five-storey apartment block, killing 18 to 19 people according to Zelensky and regional authorities, among them four to five children, and rescuers were still searching the rubble. Two people died in Kyiv and two in Kremenchuk.

Energy grid in the sights

Zelensky said energy infrastructure was a key target, and Ukraine's energy ministry reported emergency power cuts in several Kyiv districts. The air force counted 70 missiles and 130 drones; Zelensky said ballistic missiles remain hardest to intercept and asked allies for Patriot interceptors. Foreign minister Andriy Sybiha called the strikes war crimes and urged tighter sanctions.

Moscow's account

Russia's defence ministry said it hit plants producing and storing Flamingo missiles and drones, and named an industrial facility as the target in Pryluky. According to Meduza, it did not report any strikes on energy infrastructure.

Ukraine strikes back

Zelensky cited Ukrainian attacks on oil facilities and other targets in Perm, Samara and Astrakhan. He also posted video of an oil tanker set on fire off Sochi a day earlier.