(Updated: )
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russian forces launched a ballistic missile attack against the port city of Odesa on Nov. 18, killing and injuring people.
At least eight people have been reported killed and 39 injured, including four children aged 7, 10, and two 11-year-olds. The fatalities included medics and police officers.
The children are hospitalized and are in condition of moderate severity, Governor Oleh Kiper said. Thirty other people are hospitalized, of which three are in critical condition.
"Russia treacherously aimed a missile into a residential building, an area of business activity," Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said on Telegram.
A parking lot, a residential building, a university, and an administrative building were damaged in the attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"After calls and meetings with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, after false media gossip about 'refraining' from strikes, Russia shows what it is really interested in: only war," Zelensky said.
The full number of casualties and the extent of damage are being determined.
The attack occurred shortly after Russia launched one of its largest mass strikes against Ukraine on Nov. 17 and deadly missile attacks against the city of Sumy overnight on Nov. 18.
Odesa, lying on the Black Sea coast in southern Ukraine, is home to some 1 million residents. The port city has been repeatedly targeted throughout the full-scale war.
Sonya Bandouil
