1 dead, 5 injured as Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s Odessa
Kyiv, May 10 (EFE).- Russian missiles targeting Ukraine’s coastal city of Odessa have killed at least one person and injured five, the Ukrainian army said Tuesday.
The fresh missile strikes on the major Black Sea port came amid Russia’s new push against Ukrainian forces fighting from a besieged steel factory in Mariupol.
The Ukrainian military command said the Russians “returned to attack Odesa” with planes, firing Seven missiles to target the city.
They fired three Russian Kinzhal-type missiles from a Tu-22 aircraft in the Odessa region, destroying several buildings.
The Ukrainian armed forces said more missiles hit a shopping center and a consumer goods warehouse.
The Ukrainian military believed that the Russian missile reserves were running out since they were now using old Soviet models with flawed guidance.
“Missile reserves are obviously depleting as the vintage Soviet models were used with failed guidance given their age,” the Southern Operational Military Command wrote on its Facebook page.
It said the obsolete missiles dangerously hit a shopping mall and a warehouse of finished consumer goods.
The obsolete missiles do not hit their intended targets and which is why they are especially dangerous for the population, the military said.
“As a result of the enemy attack, one person was killed, and five injured were taken to hospital,” news agency Ukrinform reported.
The latest attacks sparked several fires in the city. Rescue workers were trying to douse the blaze.
The Russians have focused their military attention on southeastern Ukraine.
Experts suggest the Russian are trying to establish a land corridor that links the pro-Russian eastern region of Donbas with the Crimean peninsula, which they occupied in 2014.
However, some military actions have taken place in Odessa in the south, close to Crimea.
The city, close to the border with Moldova and about 200 km from the Romanian boundary, had, so far, escaped the Russian bombing. EFE
rml-int/ssk
