Russian attack on Odessa leaves two dead and 22 injured, a ‘destroyed’ cathedral
Russian forces carried out an attack on the port city of Odessa on Sunday, killing two and wounding 22, including four children, according to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry. Russia has claimed to have destroyed all the targets it targeted in Odessa. Follow hour by hour the latest developments in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko that the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive to push Russian forces out of Ukraine had “failed,” according to Russian news agencies.
“There is no counteroffensive,” Alexander Lukashenko first said, according to the TASS news agency, before being interrupted by Vladimir Putin, who launched: “There is one, but it failed.”
11:02: first meeting between Putin and Lukashenko since the Wagner uprising (Minsk)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has met his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for the first time since the close Moscow ally helped broker an end to the Wagner militia rebellion last month, according to footage released by Minsk.
A video released by the press service of the Belarusian president shows the two men arriving together at a palace in St. Petersburg in northwestern Russia, where they will hold bilateral talks.
10:49 AM: Russia claims to have hit sites in Odessa where “terrorist acts” were being prepared
Russia claimed to have destroyed all the targets it had targeted in the Ukrainian port of Odessa and ensured that the sites hit were used to prepare “terrorist acts” against it.
“Last night, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out an attack … on facilities where terrorist actions against Russia using naval drones were being prepared,” the Russian military said.
10:26 am: two dead and a “destroyed” cathedral after the Russian attack on Odessa, according to Ukraine
A new attack by Russian forces against the Ukrainian port of Odessa killed two people and caused the “destruction” of an Orthodox cathedral classified by Unesco, Ukraine announced, invoking a “war crime”.
Ukraine’s interior ministry has given a new toll of two dead and 22 injured, including four children, when Russian missiles were fired overnight at this Black Sea city.
“The Transfiguration Cathedral, located in the historic center of Odessa, protected by Unesco, was destroyed. A war crime that will never be forgotten and forgiven,” the foreign minister said on Twitter.
9:08am: Ukraine vows “retaliation” after firing “19 Russian missiles” at Odessa
Ukraine has vowed “retaliation” after Russian forces fired “19 missiles” overnight at the historic port of Odessa, leaving one dead and around 15 injured.
“Missiles against peaceful cities, against apartment buildings, a cathedral (…),” declared President Volodymyr Zelensky. “There will definitely be retaliation against Russian terrorists for Odessa,” he added.
02:52: Russian night attack on Odessa, one dead
Russia carried out an attack against the port city of Odessa on the night from Saturday to Sunday, the governor of the region announced, reporting the death of a civilian and more than fifteen wounded, including children.
“Unfortunately, we have a civilian killed as a result of the Russian terrorist attack at night on Odessa,” Governor Oleg Kiper wrote on Telegram.
A little earlier, he had reported a “Russian attack at 03:00” (00:00 GMT). “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 scene.
Oleg Kiper first mentioned “damage to civil infrastructure, residential buildings and a religious institution”.
“More defensive missile systems” and tactical missiles for Ukraine, claimed the head of the presidential administration, Andriy Yermak.
July 22 Essentials
Russia is holding the West “responsible” and promising “a response” on Saturday, after the death of a Russian journalist during a Ukrainian bombardment in the Zaporizhia region of southern Ukraine.
In Crimea, a Ukrainian drone attack caused the explosion of an ammunition depot, according to the governor of this peninsula annexed by Moscow.
Reuters
