Russian missile and drone strikes kill at least 28 across Ukraine

Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv and a dozen other Ukrainian regions overnight from October 6 into October 7. CBC Top Stories initially reported at least 12 civilians killed, including three children, and more than 40 wounded.

Residential buildings and energy infrastructure were among the targets. Euronews reported that Kyiv residents spent the night sheltering in subway stations and that Ukraine's president renewed his appeal for air defences.

On October 7, Ukraine said the barrage included 130 drones, 48 cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, according to Al Jazeera. Le Monde separately reported Volodymyr Zelensky's account of 70 missiles in total, many of them ballistic, with drones sent against 12 regions. Those accounts describe the missile categories differently.

The worst losses were in Pryluky, in Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region, where a missile destroyed a five-story residential building, Japan Times reported. Franceinfo reported 18 deaths there, including four children.

A subsequent account from BBC News put the apartment-block toll at 19, including five children, and said 30 flats were destroyed. Families were asleep when the missile struck.

The reported nationwide toll also climbed. NBC News reported at least 21 civilian deaths and around 60 wounded, while World News CNA reported 26 killed, including five children. Arab News and Japan Times then reported at least 28 deaths across Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said three of the children killed were just 12 months old and another was eight, according to NDTV News. The outlet also reported that the interior ministry said another child's body was recovered from the rubble in the evening.

Zelenskyy accused Russia's military of deliberately killing civilians and bombing residential buildings as a birthday gift for Vladimir Putin, the Guardian reported on October 7. World News CNA quoted his description of the attack as "one of the most vile strikes" of the conflict.

The highest nationwide toll in the supplied coverage is at least 28 dead, including five children, according to Arab News. Earlier reporting from NBC News put the number wounded at around 60.

The figures are not consistent across every report. Coverage dated October 8 from GB News gives a lower toll of at least 25. It does not explain the difference from the reports of 28 deaths published on October 7, so its later date alone should not be treated as a revised total.

Further casualty updates could clarify the differing totals, particularly after the evening recovery reported by NDTV News. Another open question is whether Zelensky's renewed appeal for air defences produces additional support. Euronews reported the appeal, but the supplied coverage contains no new commitment.