At least two people were killed in a missile and drone attack launched by Russia overnight on Kyiv, coinciding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday. According to the Kyiv Independent, multiple explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital at around 3:15 a.m. local time. The air force had earlier warned of several Russian Tu-95 bombers approaching the border. Two hours later, at 5:15 a.m., explosions were heard again amid a second wave of missile strikes.

Elsewhere in the country, a Russian missile damaged a residential building in Kremenchuk, in Poltava oblast. In the eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, other infrastructure was reportedly damaged following the large-scale attack, authorities said. In the morning, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged citizens to take air-raid alerts seriously and warned that Russia is preparing a large-scale attack against Ukraine, citing recent intelligence. “Please, please, take care of yourselves. Please respond to missile danger alerts,” he said.

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