“The Russians deliberately aimed their missiles at the historic center of Odessa”, denounces the local governor

Russian forces once again struck the Ukrainian port city of Odessa on the night of Saturday 22 to Sunday 23, killing one person, an attack which comes a few hours before a meeting between Vladimir Putin and the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, a faithful ally of Moscow.

Regularly targeted by Russian strikes, Odessa, whose historic center was listed at the beginning of the year as a world heritage site in danger by Unesco, was the target of a new night attack in which a civilian was killed. “Unfortunately, we have a civilian killed as a result of the Russian night terror attack on Odessa”Governor Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram early Sunday.

A little earlier, he had reported a “Russian attack at 3 o’clock” (2 hours in Paris). “In Odessa, 18 victims, including four children. Fourteen people were transferred to hospitals in the city, three were children”, he said, adding that help was on the spot. The Ukrainian army’s southern operational command reported that the air defenses shot down a part “important” Russian missiles, of five different types, including Kalibr.

Unintercepted projectiles have “caused damage to the port infrastructure, to at least six residences including apartment buildings”, detailed the army, adding that a missile had hit the Orthodox cathedral in the city center. According to a video that the town hall of the city relayed on its Telegram channel, the cathedral of the Transfiguration of Odessa was damaged.

“Two architectural monuments” suffered damage in this attack, which also caused “power outages”, continued the army. The latter reported 19 injuries, including four children. “More defense missile systems” and tactical missiles for Ukraine, claimed the head of the presidential administration, Andriy Yermak.

Odessa has notably experienced a “hell night” Thursday, Kyiv accusing Moscow of specifically targeting port infrastructure to prevent any possible resumption of Ukrainian grain exports. Planted on the shores of the Black Sea, Odessa is a strategic city for maritime transit in the region.

For its part, Unesco has “strongly condemned” Friday Russian strikes against “several museums” and historic buildings in the center, which “suffered damage”. The Russian army has assured to target only military sites.