ALBAWABA - A pre-dawn Russian airstrike in southern Ukraine’s Odesa city earlier today resulted in injuring at least 3 people and the damage of several civilian structures, including apartment buildings and educational institutions.
“The enemy attacked Odesa region three times during the night, using two waves of attack drones, a total of 15, and eight Kalibr-type sea-based missiles,” the Ukrainian Operational Command South wrote on Telegram.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram that the State Emergency Service carried out a search and rescue operation in Odesa, recovering three injured people from the rubble, all employees of a supermarket hit hard by enemy air shelling.
All of the strikes were repelled by air defense forces, but falling debris damaged a student dormitory and a grocery in Odesa's city center, injuring three workers, according to the Ukrainian Army.
"The blast wave damaged windows and balconies in several buildings, and damaged cars parked nearby,” the army added, stating that firefighters were battling two major fires.
Russia and Ukraine have intensified their attacks in the Black Sea since Moscow pulled out of the grain deal last month, which provided safe passage for Kyiv's grain deliveries during the crisis.
Moscow has pounded ports in the Odesa area that were critical for Ukrainian grain exports under the pact since its withdrawal.
Russian authorities have not yet commented on the attacks. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which started in February 2022, has killed over 9,300 civilians and wounded more than 16,600, according to the latest UN figures.
