Odesa drone strike injures 14, including children

An overnight Russian drone attack on Ukraine's southern city of Odesa has wounded more than a dozen people, including two children, and damaged residential buildings, Ukrainian officials said today.

The strikes caused the worst damage in the historic central Prymorskyi district, where residential buildings, a hotel and other facilities were damaged, said Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local military administration, on Telegram.

Most of the injured people were located there, Mr Lysak said.

The regional governor, Oleh Kiper, said the number of injured had risen to 14.

Odesa, a major Black Sea port and a focal point for Ukrainian exports, has been a repeated target of Russian attacks during more than four years of Russia’s war.

"It was an extremely difficult night," Mr Lysak said, adding that high-rise residential buildings, private homes and vehicles came under attack in two other districts.

He posted photographs of a damaged building with shattered windows.

"We made it through. Old buildings are the strongest," Volodymyr Taban, 68, a resident of the damaged building, told Reuters as he cleared debris.

Port infrastructure, vessel damaged in strike

Ukraine’s seaports authority said port infrastructure in the Greater Odesa hub came under attack, and a "Ramco" Nauru-flagged vessel sustained minor damage as it moved through a Ukrainian maritime corridor.

It said the attack damaged an energy facility within the cargo terminal, causing local fires which were quickly extinguished. A fire on board the vessel was also put out by the crew and, according to preliminary information, no one was injured.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia had attacked the country with 94 drones since 6pm (3pm IST) on Sunday, of which 74 were downed or neutralised.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had launched around 1,900 attack drones, nearly 1,400 guided aerial bombs, and around 60 missiles of various types at Ukraine over the past week.

"This highlights how timely the new partner contributions to the PURL initiative are," he said on X, referring to a NATO-led initiative launched last year to purchase US-made weapons for Ukraine.

He also noted the approval of new European Union sanctions against Russia and a €90-billion loan to Ukraine.