The Chernihiv regional prosecutor's office said a pretrial investigation into a war crime has been opened under Part 2 of Article 438 of Ukraine's Criminal Code. People may still be trapped under the rubble, The Moscow Times reported.
At least 26 people were injured, including five children and a female police officer, according to The Moscow Times. Vyacheslav Chaus, head of the Chernihiv military administration, published photographs from the site showing extensive destruction.
Beyond the apartment block, the attack on the region damaged other residential buildings, a children's and youth creativity center, an enterprise and cars. Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported a fire in a production building.
The strike on Priluky was part of a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces launched ballistic, cruise and anti-ship missiles, as well as 130 Shahed-type attack drones, 46 of them jet-powered. Air defense forces shot down 161 targets, including 5 ballistic and 39 cruise missiles and 117 drones.
Russia's Defense Ministry reported "high-precision" strikes on military and industrial facilities in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kharkiv regions, as well as on facilities and ships in the Odesa region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "today, for Putin's birthday, the Russian army 'gifted' him the destruction of an apartment building in Priluky." According to him, the Russians wanted to deliver a painful and demonstrative strike, using 70 missiles and drones. Zelensky also reported two deaths in Kyiv and two in Oleksandriia, and damage to apartment buildings in Dnipro and Kremenchuk.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on allies to strengthen sanctions against Russia's military-industrial complex, in particular enterprises producing ballistic missiles and the Rassvet satellite system, and to provide Ukraine with air defense systems and energy assistance ahead of winter.
Sources differ: the Chernihiv regional prosecutor's office reported 20 injured, while The Moscow Times, citing the same prosecutor's data, gives a figure of 26 injured. The death toll in reports by Ekho and The Moscow Times is the same - five people.