Russia pounded Ukraine with waves of missiles and drones in one of its most "vile strikes" on Wednesday, president Volodymyr Zelensky said, killing at least 25 people, including five children, injuring another 100 and damaging industrial facilities and energy infrastructure.
The heaviest death toll was in Pryluky in Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region, where a Russian missile obliterated a five-storey residential building.
Noting that the attacks coincided with Russian president Vladimir Putin's birthday, he said: "This is the kind of birthday present that Putin gave himself: the killing of children, the killing of people.”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has ignited fresh tensions with France after claiming that a test launch of a nuclear-capable missile was part of a “dead end” strategy to confront Russia.
French president Emmanuel Macron hailed the test of the submarine-launched ballistic missile off the coast of Brittany as a message "sent loud and clear for wherever it must be received", without mentioning Russia directly.
Pushing back, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "They are building their identity in the field of defence and security on the basis of confrontation with the Russian Federation. This is a dead end path. As history shows, it leads to nothing good."
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Key Points
- Death toll of 'one of most vile' strikes reaches 25 including five children
- Denmark says Russia has conducted sabotage attacks on defence firms
- Moscow behind sinking of ship off Bulgaria, Zelensky says investigation shows
- EU plans major new Russia sanctions
At least 25 killed in Ukraine as Zelensky condemns one of Russia's most 'vile strikes'
06:00 , Namita SinghRussia pounded Ukraine with waves of missiles and drones in one of its most "vile strikes" on Wednesday, president Volodymyr Zelensky said, killing at least 25 people, including children, and damaging industrial facilities and energy infrastructure.
The heaviest death toll was in Pryluky in Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region, where a Russian missile obliterated a five-storey residential building.
Zelensky said 19 people died in the attack, including five children. Zelensky said 25 people had been killed in the strikes throughout the country, with 100 injured. Interior minister Ivan Vyhivskyi put the death toll at 28.
The president noted that the attacks coincided with Russian president Vladimir Putin's birthday. "This is the kind of birthday present that Putin gave himself: the killing of children, the killing of people," Zelensky said in his nightly video address
Russia says forces struck ship carrying cargo for Ukrainian military
05:00 , Namita SinghRussia's defence ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had struck a vessel it said was heading to the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa with a cargo for the Ukrainian military. The statement on Telegram gave no further details of the strike.
The ministry also said Russian drones had hit infrastructure in Ukrainian ports, without elaborating.
South Korea says to take action if illegal Russian fuel shipments confirmed
04:13 , Namita SinghSouth Korea's foreign ministry said on Thursday the government would take a legal action over any illegal fuel shipments to Russia if they were confirmed, following a media report analysing port records and ship-tracking data.
The ministry said it had not confirmed whether South Korean fuel, including diesel, had been exported to Russia.
It added that exports of some products such as diesel and jet fuel for commercial purposes, referred to in the Guardian report, were not included in a South Korean exports control list to Russia.
Search abandoned for missing crew of ship that sank in drone attack
03:00 , Jane DaltonBulgaria has halted its search for the missing crew of a ship that sank after being hit by a drone about 70 nautical miles off its coast, officials say.
Early on Tuesday, two ships were hit in a drone attack in the Black Sea exclusive economic zone of Bulgaria, a Nato member.
One ship sank and the other was damaged. The crew of the damaged ship were rescued, but the crew of the sunken one remain missing.
Vice-Admiral Rumen Nikolov of the Maritime Administration Executive Agency said 12 crew members were believed to have been on board the ship that sank, all of them from Syria.
The rescue operation will not resume, he added. "There are no traces of the sailors from the first ship, and there will be none. There is also no information about drone remains," he told reporters.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack involving air and sea drones in waters off the coastal town of Byala in eastern Bulgaria, but there are growing concerns about hybrid attacks by Russia as it wages war in Ukraine.
"If we look at the nature of the cargo and the direction in which the ships were moving, then logically speaking, the result argues in favour of Russia," Prime Minister Rumen Radev said.
Turkish leader 'offers to help Moscow-Kyiv talks' in Putin call
02:00 , Jane DaltonTurkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Russia’s Vladimir Putin, telling him Turkey is ready to contribute to efforts to begin direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, and stressing the importance of safety of navigation in the Black Sea, according to Erdogan's office.
The two presidents discussed bilateral relations, as well as regional and global issues, Turkey's government said.
Erdogan also congratulated Putin on his birthday and his party's success in the latest Russian parliamentary elections, the office said.
Trump promises to speak to Putin about suspected plague death amid reports of second case
01:00 , Jane Dalton
Trump speaking to Putin about suspected plague death after reports of second case
Watch: Massive Russian attack on Ukraine
Wednesday 7 October 2026 23:30 , Jane DaltonUkraine air force says it's downing more drones than ever
Wednesday 7 October 2026 22:00 , Jane DaltonRussia's defence ministry said its forces had carried out a massive strike on military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions, using high-precision land-, sea- and air-launched weapons, as well as drones.
Ukraine's air force said it had downed just over 80% of the 46 jet-powered drones launched by Russia - a sharp increase from recent weeks when, on average, air defences took down 50% to 60%.
Since the summer, Russia has used increasing numbers of the new high-velocity drones in round-the-clock attacks on Kyiv and other cities, with Ukraine's air defences struggling to cope with their speed.
The air force did not explain the jump in the interception rate.
Zelensky said the Russian ballistic missiles remained the major challenge for Ukraine, adding that he and his team were "every day looking for Patriot (missile interception) systems that can and must protect people's lives".
In pictures: Devastation in Pryluky
Wednesday 7 October 2026 20:45 , Jane Dalton
Death toll of 'one of most vile' strikes reaches 25 including five children
Wednesday 7 October 2026 19:43 , Jane DaltonRussia has pounded Ukraine with waves of missiles and drones in one of its most "vile strikes", killing at least 25 people, including five children, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Industrial facilities and energy infrastructure were damaged and around 100 people were wounded, Ukrainian officials said.
The five children were killed when a Russian missile struck an apartment building, Mr Zelensky said. Three were a year old and another was 8.
The heaviest death toll was in Pryluky in Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region, where a Russian missile obliterated a five-storey residential building. At least 18 people were killed there, local officials said.
Mr Zelensky said: "Today, as a birthday 'gift' to Putin, the Russian army destroyed a residential building in Pryluky."
He said six more people were also killed in Kyiv, Oleksandria and Kremenchuk.
Russia fired 70 missiles at Ukraine - many of them high-velocity ballistic munitions - and dozens of Shahed attack drones, he said.
"The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively. This was one of the most vile strikes."
In Pryluky, an excavator and dozens of rescuers with shovels sifted through rubble at the site where several sections of the apartment block had collapsed.
Emergency workers used ladders to get to the upper floors of what remained of the building, and brought out 15 people alive. Around 55 people were wounded in the town, officials said.
Russian strikes on Ukraine kill at least 15 as Putin celebrates 74th birthday
Wednesday 7 October 2026 19:20 , Jane Dalton
Russian strikes kill at least 15 in Ukraine on Putin’s birthday
Denmark says Russia has conducted sabotage attacks on defence firms
Wednesday 7 October 2026 18:11 , Jane DaltonRussia has begun sabotage operations against Danish companies supplying Ukraine after concluding that broader disruption efforts failed to curb Western military support for the country, a Danish intelligence official has said.
The shift reflects a significant escalation in Moscow's hybrid warfare campaign, Josefine Christensen, lead analyst at the Danish national security and intelligence service (PET), told a homeland security conference in Copenhagen.
"What we saw in the spring was a lot of planning, but very little carried `out; what we saw in early summer is that they started to carry out a lot more," Christensen said.
Russia concluded that its previous broad-spectrum targeting "did not have the effect of deterring the Western (military alliance) Nato from supporting Ukraine," she said.
Moscow maintains political control over operations, but operational boldness is growing, she said.
Russia is now "trying to hit targets that have a direct impact on the front line. That means weapons production."
Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in sabotage or hybrid warfare operations.
The Russian embassy in Copenhagen rejected the allegations, accusing Danish authorities of making unfounded accusations against Russia.
Bulgaria halts rescue operation for crew of sunken ship
Wednesday 7 October 2026 16:00 , Daniel KeaneBulgaria has halted its search for the missing crew of a ship that sank after being hit by a drone on Tuesday about 130 km off its coast.
Vice-Admiral Rumen Nikolov, of the Maritime Administration Executive Agency, told Nova TV that the rescue operation for the crew of the sunken ship would not resume on Wednesday.
One sank and the other was damaged. The crew of the damaged ship were rescued, but the crew of the sunken one remain missing.
"There are no traces of the sailors from the first ship, and there will be none. There is also no information about drone remains," he said.
"A boat, three life rafts and parts of the ship's equipment have been found."
Trump speaking to Putin about suspected plague death after reports of second case in Russia
Wednesday 7 October 2026 15:30 , Daniel KeanePresident Donald Trump says he will speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin after the death of a plague research lab technician in Siberia.
Darya Shipilova, 28, worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East, in Shelekov, southeastern Siberia. She died a week after she reportedly smashed a test tube containing the bacterium that causes the pneumonic plague.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump was asked whether he planned to speak to the Russian leader about the situation.
“I have a call scheduled,” he said, noting that it was set to take place “very soon.”
Read our full story below.
Trump speaking to Putin about suspected plague death after reports of second case
Ukraine spoofs two Russian ballistic missiles mid-flight: report
Wednesday 7 October 2026 15:00 , Daniel KeaneUkraine diverted two Russian ballistic missiles targeting a key government site in Kyiv earlier this year using an electronic warfare system, according to a report.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the two missiles were travelling at hypersonic speed when they were brought down and crashed into the Dnipro river.
They were diverted using radio signals generated by the Lima system, which spoofs satellite navigation signals. It was operated by Ukraine’s electronic warfare unit, named Night Watch.
The signals caused navigation apps on phones in the city to briefly switch to Peru, WSJ said.
Watch: Rescuers extinguish blaze at warehouse hit by Russian strike
Wednesday 7 October 2026 14:30 , Daniel KeaneSouth Korea denies Ukrainian report that it eased Russia's fuel crisis
Wednesday 7 October 2026 14:00 , Daniel KeaneSouth Korea's presidential office has denied a Ukrainian report that Russia has imported petroleum products from South Korean ports, calling the accusation inappropriate.
Ukraine's top sanctions official, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, said on Tuesday the shipments had eased the impact of a fuel crisis caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Estonia moves troops to Russian border as fears grow of Putin attack on Nato: report
Wednesday 7 October 2026 13:30 , Shweta SharmaEstonia is moving troops closer to the Russian border and scaling up its weaponry over fears of future attacks on its territory, according to a report.
The move comes as part of a shift towards an “active defence” strategy after weeks of warnings by European heads of state and Nato leaders about an impending attack by Russian designed to test the alliance’s mutual defence clause.
As the country lacks its own air force it would be entirely dependent on the Nato alliance to secure the safety of its skies.
Estonia moves troops to Russian border as fears grow of Putin attack on Nato: report
Trump to speak to Putin on call 'very soon'
Wednesday 7 October 2026 12:30 , Shweta SharmaUS president Donald Trump said he expects to speak by phone with Russian president Vladimir Putin over a call very soon.
"I have a call scheduled [with the Russian president]," Trump said when asked whether he had spoken with Putin.
Asked when the conversation would take place, he replied: "Very soon."
Planned Moldova-Romania power line to be named after Trump
Wednesday 7 October 2026 11:30 , Shweta SharmaA planned high-voltage power line linking Romania and Moldova will be named the "Trump Liberty Line," the US embassy in Chisinau said on Monday, making it the latest infrastructure project to bear the name of US president Donald Trump.
The embassy said in a post on X that the project, "backed by a $130m US government investment", would strengthen Moldova's energy security and independence.
"The Government of the Republic of Moldova supports initiatives that benefit the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, especially those that ensure the country's security and energy infrastructure," government spokesperson Dumitru Ciorici told Reuters.
Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries and a candidate for European Union membership, imports most of its electricity via existing links with Romania and Ukraine. Russian attacks on Ukraine's power infrastructure have disrupted those supplies in the past.
Trump's name has been attached to a growing number of projects around the world, including a proposed transport corridor through Armenia and a planned military base in Poland, as governments seek to win favour with the US president.
At least 15 dead in 'massive' strikes across Ukraine on Putin's birthday
Wednesday 7 October 2026 10:57 , Adam WithnallAt least 15 people have died as Russian missiles and drones pounded Kyiv and a dozen other Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukrainian officials said.
Another 40 people were wounded, despite Ukraine having anticipated the attack, with president Volodymyr Zelensky warning the day before that Ukraine had intelligence Russia was building up for a “massive” strike.
The deadliest strike took place at an apartment block in Pryluky, in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region. Nine people died, including three children, and another 34 were wounded, interior minister Ihor Vyhivskyi said.
Deaths were also reported in three other Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, according to Zelensky.
“The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively,” the Ukrainian leader said on social media. He described the strikes as a "birthday gift" from the Russian military to their leader Vladimir Putin, who turned 74 today.
Zelensky blames Russia after drones sink ship off Bulgaria
Wednesday 7 October 2026 10:30 , Shweta SharmaThe crew of a merchant ship was missing on Tuesday after the vessel sank in the Black Sea off Nato member Bulgaria following a drone strike that prime minister Rumen Radev described as a gross violation of international law.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack by air and sea drones about 70 nautical miles (130 km) off the coastal town of Byala in eastern Bulgaria, but there are growing concerns about hybrid attacks by Russia as it wages war in Ukraine.
Shipping sources said it appeared to be the first such attack in the waters of Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.
Radev said it was unclear whether the drones came from Russia or from Ukraine, the BTA news agency reported. Bulgaria does not border either country but it holds a strategic position in the Black Sea, where both Ukraine and Russia have major ports.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, said an investigation jointly with Bulgaria's navy showed that Russia was behind the "combined attack using both sea and aerial drones".
"The Ukrainian Defence Forces were conducting no operations in this part of the sea," he said.
Kremlin says Russia open to Putin-Trump-Xi talks on APEC sidelines
Wednesday 7 October 2026 09:30 , Shweta SharmaRussia would be interested in a potential trilateral meeting between president Vladimir Putin, US president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the upcoming APEC summit in China, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Tuesday.
The summit is scheduled to take place on 18-19 November. Ushakov said the idea remained at an early stage and that no practical details had yet been worked out.
He noted that, as China was hosting the APEC summit, it would circulate the agenda and there would likely be opportunities for a trilateral meeting.
