Zelenskyy calls Russian missile attack on Odesa 'terror against our people' as 21 killed

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the "Russian missile strike" on Odesa Oblast “terror against our people” as the attack killed 21 people and injured dozens on Friday. During a briefing with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Zelenskyy said the Russian missile strike on Mykolaiv “is not a random attack, but terror against our people”. Earlier, Russia shelled a residential tower and a recreational centre in the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa which claimed several lives as the war continued unabated for over four months.

Ukraine’s state emergency services had stated that one of Russia’s missiles struck the nine-storey residential tower in Serhiivka, killing at least 16 and injuring 38 people. It was followed by another attack on the recreational centre which killed five and wounded one, the services said on Telegram. It is reported that the residential tower, home to 100 people, was destroyed on one side. 

However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow’s denial on targeting civilian infrastructure and said on Friday, “I would like to again remind you of the words of the president of the Russian Federation and commander in chief that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are not working against civilian targets in the course of the special military operation," according to The New York Times.

Russia’s targets include arms depots: Peskov

Moreover, Peskov went on to claim that Russia’s targets in Ukraine include ammunition and arms depots, and plants that manufacture or repair military equipment. He said Russian forces are also targeting places where “foreign mercenaries” and “nationalist elements” are based and trained. It is to note that the devastating attack came as Russian forces withdrew from Snake Island after over four months of the war. Snake Island is a small piece of land around 25 miles off Ukraine’s southeastern coast and it is on a major shipping lane. It is also a crucial access point to the key port of Odesa.

Meanwhile, the pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine have charged two more Britons fighting with the Ukrainian army against the Kremlin troops as "mercenaries", reported Russian state media. Britons Andrew Hill of Plymouth and Dylan Healy of Huntingdon have been reportedly charged with “forcible seizure of power” and undergoing “terrorist” training, stated The Guardian citing a state news agency in Russian-controlled Donetsk. 

Image: AP