Russia launched an intense series of nighttime air attacks sending drones and missiles toward areas across Ukraine, targeting the southern port city of Odesa for a second night in a row and wounding at least 12, Ukrainian officials said yesterday.
Meanwhile, Russian emergency officials in Crimea said that more than 2,200 people were evacuated from four villages because of a fire at a military facility.
The fire also caused the closure of an important highway, said Sergey Aksyonov, the Russia-appointed head of the peninsula, which was annexed in 2014.
Photo: Reuters
He did not specify a cause for the fire at the facility in Kirovsky District, which came two days after an attack on a bridge linking Russia to Crimea that the Kremlin has blamed on Ukraine.
Russian media reported blasts and showed images of columns of black smoke rising from the sky.
“A successful operation was conducted on occupied Crimea. The enemy is concealing the extent of the damage and the number of losses in manpower,” Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s Main Intelligence Directorate, said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
Budanov posted amateur footage apparently taken at night of a large blast with fireballs shooting out from the flames.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported more drones and missiles targeting more parts of Ukraine than in recent days.
“A difficult night of air attacks for all of Ukraine,” Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said on Telegram.
Popko said the attacks were especially fierce in Odesa for a second consecutive night.
The Ukrainian army’s Operational Command South reported that at least 12 civilians were injured in the attack on the Odesa region.
Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said the attack included “dozens of missiles and strike drones” aimed at the port and infrastructure facilities.
Debris from missiles and drones that were shot down fell on apartment buildings, seaside resorts and warehouses, sparking fires and injuring several people.
At least six residents of Odesa, including a nine-year-old boy, sought medical assistance, because of injuries caused by shattered glass and other objects.
The remnants of a downed Kh-59 missile created a large crater in another part of the city, leaving three civilians injured and several buildings damaged.
Grain and oil terminals were hit, damaging storage tanks, loading equipment and causing a fire.
Eight Shahed drones were also shot down in the wider Odesa region, where two warehouses containing tobacco and fireworks were damaged.
Russia also attacked Kyiv with Iranian-made Shahed drones, but with “no result,” Popko said.
Ukrainian air defense intercepted all the drones aimed at the capital.
Additional reporting by AFP
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