A Russian missile attack overnight killed three people and injured three others in Odesa, a city in southern Ukraine, a Ukrainian official said early Wednesday morning. Frequent target of Russian missiles and drones is trying to destroy its port infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials said the attack followed a Russian airstrike on Monday evening that killed five people and injured about 30 others.
Video and photos from Monday’s attack showed bloodied and lifeless bodies of civilians lying on a coastal promenade, not near any strategic locations such as military buildings or grain warehouses .
Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday accused Russia of using cluster bombs – a controversial and widely banned weapon that can often indiscriminately harm civilians – in that attack.
The attack early Wednesday morning also damaged civilian infrastructure in Odesa, Oleh Kiper, head of the military administration in the region, said on the messaging app Telegram.
Andriy Kostin, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, said in a statement. declare that Russia fired an Iskander ballistic missile carrying a cluster warhead in Monday’s attack. “Investigators have reason to believe that the decision to use such weapons was deliberately made by Russian military officers to kill as many Ukrainian civilians as possible,” Mr. Kostin said.
His claims could not be independently verified. The statement includes a video of the attack, which suggests the attack targeted a port area with several sports facilities nearby. The video also shows about 30 explosions occurring in rapid succession throughout the port area. The New York Times verified the authenticity of the video but did not verify the nature of the weapon used.
Minutes before the explosion, Ukraine sent a warning via Telegram channel about a missile launch from Crimea towards Odesa.
Konrad Muzyka, a military analyst at Rochan Consulting in Poland, said the explosions appeared to be the result of cluster bombs. Bridget Brink, US ambassador to Ukraine, wrote on social networking site X that Russia used cluster bombs in that attack, adding, “The brutality and unrelenting nature of the war in Russia cannot be overstated as these attacks on civilians continue on a daily basis. day.”
There was no comment from the Kremlin on the strikes in Odesa. US officials said they were aware of Monday’s attack and Ukraine’s claims about cluster munitions, but could not confirm the use of the munitions.
Because of the dangers of cluster munitions to civilians, more than 100 countries signed a 2008 treaty called the Convention on Cluster Munitions, promising not to make, use, transfer or stockpile them. . The United States, Russia and Ukraine are not parties to the treaty.
Both Russia and Ukraine have them used cluster bombs and munitions – a class of weapons including rockets, bombs, mortars, artillery shells, and rockets capable of splitting mid-air and dispersing smaller submunitions, such as explosive bombs, over an area of hundreds of square feet – in war.
Originally designed before the advent of guided weapons, they are often precision weapons designed to attack targets such as anti-aircraft sites, armored vehicles, and dismounted troops in an area. general area and often used on the front lines.
Bomb disposal experts and human rights groups say these small bombs, mass-produced and cheaply made, typically have a failure rate of 20 percent, often leaving behind dangerous debris. May explode later if mishandled. Because they are small, they can lie undetected among debris or vegetation and are so heavy that children can pick them up without realizing their danger.
If confirmed, their use in Monday’s attack could mark an escalation in Russia’s tactics to make life miserable for Ukrainian civilians, including the bombing of Power plants to destroy power plants. Power cuts in major cities. Moscow has repeatedly targeted urban centers in recent weeks, sometimes using weapons typically reserved for combat zones.
The area attacked on Monday is popular with locals, who often stroll there. A nearby Gothic-style building known locally as “Harry Potter’s Castle,” which houses a private law academy, was engulfed in flames after the attack.
Mr. Kiper said on social networks: “The Russians fired a ballistic missile carrying a cluster bomb at one of the most popular places for Odesa residents and tourists, where people were walking their children, walking their dogs and play sports”.
Mr Kiper said a dog was also killed in the attack. Not yet verified pictures from the aftermath of the attack shows a woman in sportswear kneeling on a bloody white dog, as well as a woman lying at the foot of a bench next to the sidewalk with impact marks.
Mr. Kostin, the prosecutor general, said fragments of the weapon were found within a radius of 1.5 kilometers, or about a mile, from where the crash occurred.
Last year, the United States agreed to send the Ukrainian army 155 mm cluster artillery shells to help it move forward with the summer counterattack. The decision drew criticism from human rights organizations, pointing out the indiscriminate harm the weapons can cause to civilians.
Ukrainian officials and military experts say Russia’s stepped-up attacks on major cities in recent weeks are aimed at intimidating people and creating panic.
ONE The main target is Kharkov, Ukraine’s second largest city, is just 25 miles from the Russian border. Since March, Russia has been targeting it for the first time with one of the deadliest weapons in its arsenal: powerful guided weapons known as glide bombs, dropped from fighter jets. and created hundreds of pounds of explosives in a single blast. These bombs are very difficult to shoot down by air defense systems, leaving people basically helpless.
On Tuesday, Russia again attacked Kharkov with three glide bombs according to one report. declare from the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office. The attack killed at least one person and injured at least eight others, the prosecutor’s office said.
Dr. Oleksandr Volkov, a Kharkiv-based medical doctor with the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian organization, said in an email statement that a series of recent strikes has worsened living conditions. in the city “is increasingly uncomfortable, marking a significant decline from just”. six months ago.”
Eric Schmitt Contributed reporting from Washington, DC
