Vladimir Putin marked his 74th birthday with a widespread missile and drone attack across Ukraine, resulting in at least 25 fatalities and numerous injuries. The barrage, which included over 70 Russian ballistic missiles, targeted infrastructure and residential areas.
In Pryluky, a northern Chernihiv region city, a five-storey apartment block was destroyed, killing nine people, including three children. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the strike as Russia's "birthday present" to Putin.
Meanwhile, in Kyiv, 14-year-old Daniel Umansky was killed by a drone strike while doing his homework. His father, Zorick Umansky, recounted that his son had just written about historical figures who protected the vulnerable. "Seconds later, at 8am on September 25, a Shahed drone smashed into his flat at 300mph, killing him instantly in front of his mother," the report stated. His unfinished homework was found bloodied and shredded at the page he was working on.
Mr. Umansky, a wine expert, described the psychological trauma his family is enduring. The family, originally from Israel, had returned to Kyiv after living in Tel Aviv during the initial invasion in 2022, only to return again after the attacks on Israel in October 2023. Daniel had expressed a desire for a life free from constant threat.
"Russians are trying to make Kyiv impossible to live in. They carry out psychological terror," Mr. Umansky said, appealing for international attention to Russia's actions in Ukraine. The attacks occurred in the early hours, with TU-160 strategic bombers and drones reportedly deployed by Russia.