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On Friday, Russia destroyed a portion of an apartment building while residents slept in missile attacks near Ukraine’s port of Odesa, killing at least 21 people, according to authorities, just hours after Russian troops abandoned the Black Sea stronghold of Snake Island.
Residents of the resort community of Serhiivka assisted workmen in removing rubble from the nine-story apartment building, a chunk of which had been destroyed in the early-morning strike.
The blast wave harmed the walls and windows of a nearby 14-story residential building. Nearby summer camps were also impacted.
“We came to the site, assessed the situation with emergency personnel and locals, and assisted those who survived. And those who, regrettably, died. We assisted in transporting them “said Oleksandr Abramov, who lives close and hurried to the scene when he heard the explosion.
Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesman for the Odesa regional administration, said 21 people had been verified murdered, including a 12-year-old boy. Among those killed was a member of the Children’s Rehabilitation Center established in the resort by Ukraine’s neighbour Moldova.
According to the regional governor, the missiles were launched from the Black Sea.
The Kremlin denied that people were targeted.
“I would like to remind you that the Russian Armed Forces do not work with civilian targets,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Long-Distance Attacks Increase in Intensity
In his nightly video message on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack on the residences and seaside site as “intentional, purposefully targeted Russian terror, rather than some type of accident or coincidental missile strike.”
The strike on Serhiivka occurred immediately after Russia withdrew its troops from Snake Island, a strategically significant outcrop about 140 kilometres (85 miles) southeast of Odesa that it had seized on the first day of the war.
Ukraine’s General Staff Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny accused Russia of failing to follow through on its claims that it had departed Snake Island as a “gesture of good will.” Zaluzhny reported on his Telegram channel that two Russian aeroplanes took out from a base in Crimea and targeted targets on the island on Friday evening.
He shared a video of the alleged attack. Reuters was unable to confirm the footage or Russian action. There was no quick response from Russia.
Earlier this week, Russia bombed a packed retail mall in central Ukraine, killing at least 19 people.
According to Kyiv, Moscow has increased its long-range missile attacks, hitting civilian areas distant from the frontlines. Russia claims to have targeted military facilities.
Thousands of civilians have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Russia describes the invasion as a “special operation” to weed out nationalists. Ukraine and its Western allies claim it is an unprovoked aggression.
Since March, Russian military have controlled the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor in southern Ukraine, Europe’s largest. On Friday, Ukraine’s nuclear power operator announced that it had re-established its link to the country’s cut-off surveillance systems. Since March, communications have been disrupted twice, and the UN’s nuclear watchdog wants to investigate the plant.
Food Security
Russia utilised Snake Island to control the northwestern Black Sea and put a blockade on Ukraine, the world’s largest grain exporter.
Moscow rejects responsibility for the food crisis, which it blames on Western sanctions affecting its own exports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the president of Indonesia on Thursday and spoke by phone with the prime minister of India on Friday, promising both large food importers that Russia will continue to be a major grain provider.
Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain from territory taken by Russian military since its invasion.
It reported a Russian-flagged cargo ship, the Zhibek Zholy, had left the Russian-occupied port of Berdyansk carrying a cargo of Ukrainian grain. According to a Ukrainian official and a document seen by Reuters, Kyiv demanded that Turkey hold the vessel.
The first cargo ship had left Berdyansk harbour on Thursday, according to a Russian-installed official, but he did not name the Zhibek Zholy.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied grain theft and did not respond to calls for comment on Friday.
No gas, electricity, or water
Russia’s increased missile strikes on Ukrainian cities coincides with its forces’ military victory in the east, with the goal of compelling Ukraine to relinquish the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Since taking the city of Sievierodonetsk last week, Moscow has been on the edge of capturing Luhansk.
Ukraine’s final fortress in Luhansk is the city of Lysychansk, which is on the verge of being encircled by Russian artillery barrages.
Residents of Russian-occupied Sievierodonetsk emerged from their basements to rummage through their city’s rubble.
“The majority of the city’s infrastructure has been destroyed. Since May, we have been without gas, power, and running water “Reuters spoke with Sergei Oleinik, 65.
More weaponry were required in both eastern and southern Ukraine, according to Zelenskiy, as the Pentagon announced the shipment of two NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems, four additional counter-artillery radars, and ammunition as part of its newest armament package.
“We worked really hard to get these,” Zelenskiy remarked.
