A ballistic missile attack launched by Russia Attacks on the port infrastructure of Odessa in southern Ukraine and on the Black Sea coast left at least seven dead and 15 injured in the early hours of this Saturday, according to Ukrainian authorities.
“Late afternoon (Friday), Russia attacked the port infrastructure of the Odessa region with ballistic missiles,” he wrote telegram Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba. The bombing particularly hit the port of Pivdennyione of the most important in the region, where, according to Kuleba and the regional governor Oleg Kiper, the bodies of the deceased were found.
The injured were taken to hospitals where they received medical attention, while the attack sparked fires in several vehicles parked in the affected area.
Odessa, a strategic center for the export of grain and other Ukrainian products, has been the target of repeated Russian attacks since the Kremlin-ordered large-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Kiper reported in the early hours of the morning: “The enemy continues to bombard our region nonstop, but we are doing everything we can to keep people safe and keep transport and logistics running.”
The governor explained The attack sparked a fire in an area used as a truck parking lot.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko reported that the Ukrainian government is intensifying measures to ensure smooth movement both by road and rail for residents and commercial transport following the attack.
In addition, Kuleba noted that Ukraine is in contact with the authorities of Moldova to coordinate alternative routes from the area affected by the bombing, thereby facilitating the passage of trucks and passengers across the border.
In Moldova, authorities set up temporary camps at key border crossings to provide shelter and supplies to travelers facing delays transiting into Ukraine.
In addition, the coastal region of Odessa has been the scene of an intensification of the Russian offensive in recent weeks. This escalation comes after the Russian President Vladimir Putinthreatened retaliation over recent successful Ukrainian operations against ships carrying Russian oil. Putin even warned that Russia could completely cut off Ukrainian access to the sea if Ukraine continued to attack oil tankers.
This Friday, Ukrainian intelligence sources reported a drone attack on a Russian oil tanker of the so-called “ghost fleet,” which was hit in neutral waters of the Mediterranean. According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the ship identified as “Qendil” was empty at the time of the attack.
An SBU source described the action as “unprecedented new special operation“, since it’s about them Kiev’s first attack on a Russian tanker in the Mediterraneanabout 2,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
The agency Ukrinform He added that as a result of a multi-stage operation in international waters, the SBU Alpha unit used aerial drones to attack the Russian ship, which was identified as part of the “ghost fleet” of the Russian Federation.
At the time of the attack, the Russian tanker was unloaded, so “this attack did not pose a threat to the ecological situation in the region,” said the source quoted by Ukrainian media.
(With information from Reuters)
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