Conflicts & War

Russia strikes Odesa for second consecutive night

Kyiv, July 19 (EFE).- Russia launched multiple missiles targeting critical and military infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday.

The attack on Tuesday was the second overnight strike in two days against this key port used to export Ukrainian grain.

“On the night of July 19, 2023, Russian invaders attacked Ukraine from the south, using air-, land-, and sea-based cruise missiles,” the Ukrainian air force said on Facebook.

“Critical infrastructure facilities and military facilities were attacked, the main direction of the strike — Odesa!” it added.

On Tuesday night, Russia fired 16 Kalibr, 8 Kh-22 and 6 Onyx cruise missiles, as well as a Kh-59 guided air missile and 32 Shahed kamikaze drones, out of which Ukraine managed to shoot down 14 missiles and 23 drones, the air force said.

“The strikes of the Kh-22 and Onyx missiles were aimed at the infrastructure of the Odesa region,” it added.

A grain and oil terminal was hit and tanks and loading equipment damaged by the missiles, Odesa’s military spokesperson, Sergei Bratchuk, said on Telegram.

Also hit was an industrial facility in the Odesa district, injuring a civilian employee, along with two warehouses in different locations, he added.

The attack also caused a fire in the area, according to the official.

Debris from eight Shahed-136 drones that were shot down caused damage to hotels in the coastal Kobleve village, injuring two people.

Several apartment buildings were also damaged in another area of Odesa “as a result of combat work to destroy missiles and drones,” Bratchuk said.

At least six residents of Odesa, including a 9-year-old boy, received medical treatment after sustaining injuries, he added.

Russia had also attacked Odesa the previous night with 6 Kalibr cruise missiles and several drones that damaged the city’s port infrastructure despite being intercepted by Ukrainian air defense systems.

The two attacks on Odesa take place after the Kremlin announced the suspension of Ukraine’s Black Sea grain export deal on Monday.

The accord was signed by Russia and Ukraine in July last year with the mediation of Turkey and the UN to allow the export of grains from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, blocked by Russia, after war between the two nations broke out in February 2022.

Under the agreement, Russia pledged not to attack ships carrying Ukrainian grain or infrastructure related to grain exports. EFE

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