At least 14 people were killed and 46 others were wounded this Friday in Odessa in one of the deadliest Russian attacks on the port city, Kiyv authorities reported.
Among the dead are a paramedic and a Ukrainian emergency services worker who lost their lives in a second explosion while providing aid at the scene of the attack to victims of a first impact.
“As a result of the missile attack, 14 people have died, including residents of the area, a paramedic and a member of the rescue teams,” wrote the head of the Odessa Military Administration, Oleg Kiper, on his Telegram account. .
Kiper added that among the 46 injured there are 7 emergency services personnel, who would have been hit by the second explosion.
According to the first information from the authorities, it would be a missile attack. The Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office is investigating the attack as a war crime.
The attack is one of the deadliest perpetrated by Russia against the city of Odessa, and occurs on the first day of voting in the Russian presidential elections, which run from today until Sunday and also take place in the territories that the Federation Russian occupies Ukraine.
Odessa, one of Ukraine's largest ports, has long been a target of Russian attacks, especially after Moscow abandoned a UN-brokered deal that had allowed the safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments through the Black Sea. .
"Russian terror in Odessa is a sign of the weakness of the enemy, which is fighting against Ukrainian civilians at a time when it cannot guarantee the safety of people on its own territory," the head of the Ukrainian presidential cabinet wrote on Telegram, Andriy Yermak.
Ukraine has developed and used long-range drones to try to counterattack Russia, escalating attacks on a series of oil refineries this week.
Moscow denies targeting civilians in the large-scale invasion of Ukraine it launched in February 2022, although many have been killed in frequent Russian airstrikes across the country.
