Moscow: A Russian drone assault on Ukraine’s vital Black Sea port of Odesa claimed three lives — a toddler and two women — after Ukrainian forces struck back at Russia’s key oil export hub.
The barrage severely damaged a residential highrise in Odesa, with rescuers extracting four survivors from the debris under intense floodlighting. Officials confirmed 11 hospitalisations, including a pregnant woman and two young children, AP reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky c
laimed in a post on X one of the two children among the 11 hospitalisations was a child under one year.
Russia has relentlessly targeted non-military sites across Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion more than four years ago, resulting in over 15,000 civilian deaths, according to United Nations data.
Overnight attacks also crippled energy infrastructure in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions. In northern Chernihiv alone, over 300,000 households lost power after distribution networks were hit, the local utility department reported.
Zelensky highlighted the escalating intensity, noting Russia deployed more than 2,800 drones, nearly 1,350 glide bombs and over 40 missiles in the past week.
Ukrainian responded with long-range drones hammered oil facilities at Novorossiysk, Russia’s primary Black Sea petroleum export point, sparking fires and disrupting operations.