Russian Missile Attack on Odessa, One Killed, 22 Wounded
Odessa, MINA – At least one was killed and 22 injured as a result of a Russian missile attack on the city of Odessa, southern Ukraine, said the local Police.
Asq quoted from Anadolu Agency on Monday, the National Police of Ukraine said in a statement on Telegram that it was assessing the consequences of the attack, adding that civilian infrastructure, high-rise and private residential buildings and cars were damaged or destroyed as a result of the attack.
Ukrainian police have been conducting security in the area, assisting with rescues and providing necessary assistance to the injured.
In addition, the historic Transfiguration Cathedral was also damaged in the attack, the Odesa City Council said. The building is said to be the largest Orthodox church in Odessa.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry in a statement denied targeting the church, saying it was “located at a safe distance from the temple complex.”
“The planning of high-precision attacks on the military and terrorist infrastructure of the Kyiv regime was carried out on the basis of carefully verified and confirmed information through several channels, deliberately excluding the destruction of civilian facilities, as well as objects of cultural and historical heritage,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The statement added that the most likely cause of the damage to the church was the downing of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile as a result of the illiterate actions of air defense system operators, deliberately stationed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in residential areas, including in the city of Odesa.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would retaliate. “We’ll get through this. We will restore peace and for that, we must defeat the evil Russia,” he said on Telegram.
Russian missile attacks on Ukraine have increased since Monday after the explosion on the Kerch bridge, which connects Russia to the Crimean Peninsula.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the alleged Ukrainian attack a “terrorist attack” and vowed to retaliate. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
