A Russian rocket attack destroyed an airport runway in Odesa, Ukraine’s third-largest city and a key Black Sea port, the Ukrainian army said Saturday.
In a Telegram post, Ukraine’s Operational Command South said there was no way that the Odesa runway could be used as a result of the rocket attack.
Local authorities urged residents of the area to shelter in place as Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, citing army sources, reported that “several” explosions were heard in Odesa.
Odesa’s regional governor said that the rocket was fired from Russian-occupied Crimea. Maksym Marchenko said there were no reports of any injuries.
Ukraine’s president has accused Russia of launching attacks on the Dnipropetrovsk region as well as the city of Odessa in the country’s south.
“Again and again, Russian troops prove that the people of Odesa are the same enemies for Russia as all other Ukrainians. The runway of Odesa airport was destroyed. We will, of course, rebuild it. But Odesa will never forget such Russian attitudes towards it,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.
He added that efforts were being made to “return normal life” in areas previous occupied by Russian forces.
“The work of humanitarian units has already begun on the territory of 93 percent of de-occupied settlements. We are actively de-mining the liberated territory. Every day several dozen settlements are added to the list of those where de-mining has ended. 69 percent of de-occupied settlements are again with full-fledged local self-government.”
Russian forces have embarked on a major military operation to seize significant parts of southern and eastern Ukraine, the country’s industrial heartland, and capture the country’s Black Sea and Sea of Azov coasts.
The Russian defence ministry said it had hit 17 military targets in Ukraine on Saturday with missiles and air strikes, killing more than 200 Ukrainians along with 23 armoured vehicles and other military equipment.
