Russian missile attack on Odesa kills 10, injures 55
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.
Ten people have been reported killed, and 55 others injured, with 30 hospitalized. Three of the wounded remain in critical condition, according to Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper.
The fatalities included seven police officers, a medic, and two civilian residents.
Among the injured were at least 14 law enforcement officers and four children, two of them aged 7, 10, and two 11-year-olds. Local authorities declared Nov. 19 a day of mourning in Odesa, Kiper said.
"Russia treacherously aimed a missile at a residential building, an area of business activity," Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said on Telegram shortly after the attack.
Later on, Ukraine's Air Force clarified that Russia launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile around noon, which was downed by air defenses.
"Unfortunately, the downed missile fell into the residential sector of the city's Prymorskyi district," the statement read. Russia reportedly launched a reconnaissance Orlan drone at 11:45 a.m. local time, followed by the missile attack at 11:57 a.m.
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 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
