Odessa, the target of Russian missiles again
On the night of Sunday 22nd to 23rd, Russian forces again attacked the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, killing one person. The attack came hours before a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch Moscow ally.
Odessa, whose historic center was listed as a World Heritage Site in Danger by Unesco earlier this year and is a regular target of Russian attacks, has been the target of a fresh night-time attack that has killed a civilian. “Unfortunately, a civilian was killed in the Russian night terror attack on Odessa,” Gov. Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram early Sunday.
A little earlier he had reported a “Russian attack at 3 o’clock” (2 o’clock in Paris). “In Odessa 18 victims, including four children. Fourteen people were transferred to city hospitals, three of whom were children,” he said, adding that help is on the ground. The Ukrainian Army’s Southern Task Force said air defenses shot down a “significant” proportion of Russian missiles, five of different types, including Kalibrs.
The continuous projectiles “damaged the port infrastructure and at least six residential buildings, including apartment buildings,” the army said, adding that one rocket hit the Orthodox Cathedral in the city center. Odessa’s Transfiguration Cathedral was damaged, according to a video shared by the city’s city hall on its Telegram channel.
“Two monuments” were damaged in this attack, which also led to “power outages,” the army said. The latter reported 19 injuries, including four children. “More defense missile systems” and tactical missiles for Ukraine, demanded the head of the presidential administration Andriy Yermak.
Odessa in particular endured a “hell night” on Thursday, with Kiev accusing Moscow of targeting port infrastructure to prevent a possible resumption of Ukrainian grain exports. Located on the Black Sea coast, Odessa is a strategic city for maritime transport in the region.
Unesco, for its part, “strongly condemned” Russian attacks on Friday on “several museums” and historical buildings in the center, which “were damaged”. The Russian army has pledged to attack only military sites.