Russian barrage kills civilians and deepens Ukraine’s winter pressure

A Russian overnight barrage killed at least 26 people in Ukraine, including children, while strikes disrupted Kyiv and hit critical infrastructure.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired at least 50 missiles and 130 drones overnight at areas including Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Poltava. The defenses brought down five ballistic missiles, 39 cruise missiles and over 100 drones.

A Russian cruise missile struck a residential building in Pryluky, Chernihiv Oblast, leaving at least 20 people dead, among them five children, and at least 55 wounded, including seven children.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social media post that three of the children killed were one year old and were named Oleksandr, Kyrylo and Serhiy. An eight-year-old named Maksym was also among the dead.

Ukraine’s state emergency service and interior ministry said a fifth child had died as of 7:13 p.m. local time and that another child’s body was recovered from the rubble in the evening. It was unclear whether anyone remained trapped beneath the rubble.

The two reported totals differ, but both accounts identify 20 deaths in Pryluky. The final death toll from the overnight attack was not yet established.

Yuliia Shamrai, a resident near the stricken building, said: "I don't see any military significance in this at all,"

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a strike sparked a blaze in Kyiv’s densely populated Darnytskyi neighbourhood, killing two people. Subsequent strikes claimed two more lives.

Parts of Kyiv lost power, leaving them dark, disrupting traffic and cutting water supplies on the capital’s right bank. Residents put the strike at about 6.30am local time, one day after Zelensky warned of a "massive" Russian assault focused particularly on energy infrastructure.

The assault damaged homes, electricity supplies and transport, affecting civilian safety as well as essential services. On 7 October, the European Commission announced 1.24 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in defense support for Ukraine from the bloc’s 90 billion euro support loan ($100 billion) for Kyiv.

Approved in April 2026, the loan was designed to cover two-thirds of Kyiv’s financial and defense requirements through the end of 2027. Defense was allocated 28.3 billion euros ($31.7 billion) in 2026, after Brussels approved Ukraine’s spending plans.

Zelensky said Ukraine’s "just responses" to Russian strikes hit two oil facilities and a training ground in the Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions, as well as the Black Sea. Large fires broke out at a major oil pipeline and storage facility in Samara Oblast, according to footage shared on social media and NASA satellite monitoring.

The exact facility hit in Samara Oblast was not specified, and it was unclear whether Ukraine’s reported strikes caused the observed fires. The facility near the village of Prosvet includes pumping stations, tank farms and blending stations.

The attack followed a 5 October incident in which a cargo ship caught fire in the Black Sea off the Romanian coast after a Russian drone strike. Two people were killed and at least 11 more were injured.

1. 5 OctoberBlack Sea incident A cargo ship caught fire after a Russian drone strike, killing two and injuring at least 11.
2. 7 OctoberOvernight barrage Russia launched missiles and drones against regions across Ukraine.
3. 7 OctoberEU payment The European Commission announced 1.24 billion euros of defense support for Ukraine.
4. 5–9 OctoberTransport response Ukrzaliznytsia added 18 Kyiv City Express shuttle runs between Vydubychi and Darnytsia.