by Iryna Nazarchuk and Yuliia Dysa
ODESSA, Ukraine (Reuters) – A twin Russian missile strike killed at least 20 people and injured more than 70 on Friday in Odessa, southern Ukraine, one of the deadliest attacks on the city, reports said. Ukrainian authorities reported.
The Ukrainian port was hit by two Iskander-M missiles fired from the annexed Crimean peninsula, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on national television.
President Volodimir Zelensky denounced a “despicable” attack and promised a “just response” from Ukrainian forces.
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The missiles hit a residential area and damaged gas and electricity infrastructure, Oleh Kiper said.
Among the victims were at least one doctor and one rescuer who had gone to the site after the first bombing, he added, reporting ten seriously injured.
A three-story recreation center was destroyed, along with at least ten privately owned houses, the Ukrainian army’s Southern Command said.
Dozens of rescuers were busy putting out fires caused by the explosions and cleaning up debris.
Odessa, which is home to important Ukrainian port infrastructure, has been the target of Russian bombings almost daily since Moscow denounced last year the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea concluded under the auspices of the United Nations. and Turkey.
Earlier this month, on March 2, twelve people died in a drone attack that destroyed a building in the port city.
(Written by Yuliia Dysa, French version Tangi Salaün and Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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