Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 25 people were killed, among them five children, in a Russian strike on Wednesday, according to Il Sole 24 ORE. The attack hit a residential building in Ukraine and coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin's birthday.
Zelensky described the strike as a gift for Putin's birthday, a characterization carried by Il Sole 24 ORE, ANSA and Il Fatto Quotidiano. The reported death toll varied across outlets as figures were still being confirmed: ANSA reported a raid on an apartment block, Avvenire cited 18 civilians killed including two children, and Il Fatto Quotidiano put the figure at at least 19 dead, four of them children. Il Post reported that Russia destroyed a residential building in Ukraine.
The discrepancy in numbers reflects the difficulty of verifying casualty counts while rescue work at the site continued. The strike is the latest in a series of Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian areas, which Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting.
What to watch next: whether Ukrainian officials release a consolidated casualty figure and how international partners respond to the attack.
