Published
A series of strikes hit Odessa, Ukraine’s main port on the Black Sea, on Sunday morning. Russia says it targeted and destroyed a refinery to starve Ukrainian forces fighting in the region of fuel.
Thick black smoke rose in the sky over Odessa after the Russian attack.
AFP
The Ukrainian city of Odessa was targeted by a remote attack by Russian forces on Sunday morning. “This morning, high-precision sea and land missiles destroyed a refinery and three fuel and lubricant storage sites near the city of Odessa,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in Moscow. These sites provided fuel to Ukrainian forces in the direction of the city of Mykolaiv, further east, he said.
Following these explosions, which occurred around 6 a.m. (5 a.m. in Switzerland), several huge columns of black smoke and flames rose above an industrial area.
It was a rocket attack that caused no casualties, said a Ukrainian officer from the southern regional command, Vladislav Nazarov. “The Odessa region is among the priority targets of the enemy. The enemy continues its underhanded practice of striking sensitive infrastructure,” he said, reiterating the ban on any publication on the location or damage of the strikes.
Other missiles shot down
“The Russian Nazis carried out a missile strike, some of which were shot down by the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense,” the city of Odessa had previously indicated. Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, wrote on his Telegram account that “Odessa was attacked from the air. Fires have been reported in some areas. Part of the missiles were shot down by air defense. It is recommended to close the windows.
This historic city has so far been relatively spared from the fighting. This is the first strike to hit the inner city since March 21.
Greek tour
This attack comes as Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is expected “very soon” in Odessa, his services announced on Sunday morning. “The minister is providing humanitarian aid, which will be handed over to the city authorities”, and intends to discuss with them “the creation of a permanent mechanism for the distribution of humanitarian aid”, according to the ministry. In Odessa, Nikos Dendias will also meet members of the city’s Greek community and plans to reopen the Greek consulate.
The entire eastern coast of the country, from the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, to the pro-Russian separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, in the Donbass region (east), is occupied by Russian forces, with the exception of part of the city of Mariupol, where they are still encountering resistance from the Ukrainian army.
(AFP)