Zelensky Blames Putin for Deadly Oct. 7 Strikes Across Ukraine
Russian attacks across Ukraine on Oct. 7 killed at least 28 people, Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said, updating an earlier toll. The worst loss occurred in Pryluky, where a cruise missile hit an apartment block and 20 people died, including five children. President Volodymyr Zelensky framed the assault as a birthday present for Putin and said the Russian leader is defined by war.
Ukraine’s interior ministry later raised the nationwide toll to 28 after an earlier count of 25. Pryluky suffered the deadliest single site: a Kh-101 cruise missile hit a five-story apartment block, killing 20, among them five children, three aged one. Rescue teams worked through collapsed sections.
Other strikes hit Kyiv, Kremenchuk, Oleksandriia. In Kyiv, ballistic missiles arrived in multiple waves beginning after 3 a.m., killing two. Kremenchuk attacks with missiles and drones killed two and injured seven. Emergency personnel rescued or evacuated 29 people, mostly in Pryluky. Russia combined ballistic/cruise missiles and Shahed drones, with daytime drones/aerial bombs.
The deaths and injuries may deepen grief and insecurity in affected communities, especially Pryluky families and children. Displacement, rescue trauma, and damaged housing could strain local services. Nationwide, repeated strikes may heighten anxiety, disrupt daily routines, and increase demand for shelters, mental health support, and emergency response. Political reactions may intensify, but impacts vary.