ODESA: Ukraine said on Friday that Russian forces had launched missile strikes on the Black Sea port city of Odesa that left 14 people, including a paramedic and a rescue worker, dead.
Exhausted emergency responders, covered in blood and debris, worked tirelessly to extinguish fires and treat injured colleagues in the aftermath of the attack, as depicted in images released by authorities.
Local officials stated that Russian airstrikes targeted residential buildings and vehicles that also injured 46 others, including rescue personnel.
Andriy Yermak, a senior government official in Kyiv, condemned the Russian aggression in Odesa, labeling it as a sign of weakness from the enemy, especially as Ukrainian strikes had recently targeted Russian territory and pro-Kyiv militias attempted incursions into Russian border regions.
Russia, which has frequently targeted Odesa with drones and missiles, had not immediately responded to the latest strikes. These attacks coincided with the start of presidential elections in Russia, which were also being held in several occupied areas of Ukraine, further fueling tensions between Kyiv and Moscow.
Earlier this month in Odesa, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis come under Russian missile attack, claimed by Russia as targeting military sites in the city’s port. Moreover, a recent drone strike by Russia had resulted in the deaths of civilians, including children, in an apartment block in Odesa.
In addition to the assaults on Odesa, Kyiv reported Russian drone strikes in Vinnytsia, resulting in two deaths, and shelling in Zaporizhzhia, claiming the life of a woman.
Moscow-appointed officials in Donetsk also accused Ukraine of a “barbaric” attack that killed three children in a residential area. Russia alleged Ukrainian drone and artillery attacks near their shared border, with casualties reported in towns like Grayvoron and Belgorod.
