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Odesa strikes (2022–present)

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Odesa strikes
Part of theRussian invasion of Ukraine

Aftermath of a Russian missile strike against warehouses in Odesa on 24 February
Date24 February 2022(2022-02-24)– present
(2 years, 4 months, 1 week and 2 days)
Location
Belligerents
Russia Ukraine
Units involved

Russian Armed Forces

Ukrainian Armed Forces

Territorial Defense Forces
Casualties and losses
Per Russia:1 sailor killed
27 missing[1]
Moskva sunk[2]
1 Mi-8 helicopter lost
27+ servicemen killed
6+ wounded[3][4][5]
1Mi-14helicopter lost[5]
1 aircraft lost
----
1 warship sunk (Russian claim)[6]
31 civilians killed, 63–65 wounded[7][8][9][10]

During thesouthern Ukraine offensiveof theRussian invasion of Ukraine,the city ofOdesaand the surrounding region have been the target of shelling and air strikes by Russian forces on multiple occasions since the conflict began, fired predominantly from Russian warships situated offshore in theBlack Sea.The city has also been targeted by Russiancruise missiles.

Timeline

2022

Equipment seized from alleged Russian saboteurs in Odesa, 27 February

The first Russian airstrikes against Odesa occurred on the first day of the invasion, early on 24 February 2022, targeting warehouses in the city as well as radar and air defense systems inLipetske.The attacks left at least 22 killed and 6 wounded among servicemen and soldiers.[3][4]Ukrainian authorities also reported that Russian shelling targeted the military airport in Odesa and destroyed one aircraft.[11]Russian saboteurs had begun operating in Odesa by 27 February, as Ukrainian authorities detained them and confiscated their equipment. Evacuation trains began taking civilians out of the city towardsChernivtsiandUzhhorodon 2 March, with further evacuation trains operating on 8 March.[12]

At around 12:00 local time on 2 March 2022, Russian forces shelled the village ofDachneto the north-west of Odesa, damaging a natural gas pipeline and setting fire to nine houses and a garage. This was followed on 3 March by the shelling of the nearby villages ofZatoka[13]andBilenke,killing at least one civilian in the latter village.[14]Russian warships also shelled the Ukrainian civilian vesselHeltin the port of Odesa, causing it to sink.[15]

On 5 March 2022, one RussianMil Mi-8of registration numberRF-91165was destroyed near Odesa.[16][17]A new brigade of theTerritorial Defense Forces of Ukrainewas founded in Odesa on 8 March, after initial complaints by civilians in the city wishing to join the defence force of a lack of organisation as they were sent home without weapons.[18]

Russian attacks in Odesa intensified towards the end of March. During the morning of 21 March 2022, Russian warships reappeared offshore and began shelling targets in Odesa including the port, before Ukrainian coastalartilleryreturned fire and drove them back out into theBlack Sea.[19]On 25 March, Ukrainian air defences claimed to shot down threecruise missilesover the Black Sea which were on course to strike targets in and around Odesa.[20]Ukraine claimed two more Russian cruise missiles were shot down off the coast of Odesa on 27 March,[21]although the city subsequently came under heavy mortar fire according to a statement onTelegramby Serhii Bratchuk, spokesman for the Odesa military administration.[22]

On 13 April 2022, Ukrainian presidential adviserOleksiy ArestovychandOdesa governorMaksym Marchenkosaid that theRussian cruiser Moskva,flagshipof the RussianBlack Sea Fleet,had been hit by twoNeptune anti-ship missilesand was on fire in rough seas.[2]The missiles were apparently launched in or near Odesa atMoskvalocated 60 to 65 nautical miles offshore.[23][24]TheRussian Ministry of Defencesaid that a fire had caused munitions to explode, and that the ship had been seriously damaged and the crew fully evacuated, without any reference to a Ukrainian strike.[25]The following day, the ship sunk as it was attempting to reach port for repairs.[2]Russia stated one sailor from theMoskvawas killed and 27 were missing, while 396 crewmembers were rescued.[1] However, according to Ukrainian sources, there were anywhere from 500 to 700 crewmembers on board, and that only 100 of them had survived.[26]

On 23 April 2022, a Russian missile strike hit a military facility and two residential buildings,[27]killing eight civilians and wounding 18 or 20, according to Ukraine.[9]Russia confirmed the attack stating the facility targeted was a logistic terminal at a military airfield that housed US and European weapons given to Ukraine.[28]

Shopping mall in Fontanka village near Odesa, destroyed on 9 May

On 27 April 2022, Russian forces attackedZatoka Bridgewith the aim of disconnecting the city of Odesa with the rest of the country at the east ofDniesterriver.[29][needs update]

On 1 May 2022, Ukrainian PresidentZelenskysaid that Russian forces destroyed the newly built runway of the Odesa Airport. Ukrainian officials said Russian forces used aBastionmissile for the attack.[30]The city was bombed again on 7 May, with four missiles hitting a civilian building and another two on the city airport.[31]On 7 May, a Ukrainian Naval AviationMil Mi-14,piloted by Col. Igor Bedzai was shot down near Odesa by a Russian jetfighter after a mission on Snake Island, five servicemen were lost.[32][5][33]

On 9 May 2022, Russia fired threeKinzhalmissiles toOdesa Oblast.At that time, President of the European CouncilCharles Micheland Prime Minister of UkraineDenys Shmyhalwere in Odesa and had to hide in a bomb shelter. In the evening of the same day, Russian troops fired rockets at three warehouses in Odesa and a shopping centre in the village of Fontanka near the city. One person was killed, and two people were injured in the warehouses, and three people were injured in the mall.[34]

In the night between 30 June and 1 July 2022, threeKh-22missiles fired fromTu-22Mstrategic bomberswere fired into a 9-store apartment building and an recreational centerin the settlementSerhiivka,Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion,Odesa Oblast. The whole section of the apartment building was destroyed. At least 21 people were killed and more than 38 wounded.[35][7]

On 23 July 2022, less than a day after signing a grain export deal with Ukraine, Russia launchedKalibrmissiles at the Odesa sea trade port. According to Ukraine, two of the four missiles were intercepted.[36]Russian officials told Turkey that Russia had "nothing to do" with the missile strike.[37]The next day,Igor Konashenkov,a spokesman of theRussian Ministry of Defence,confirmed the strike, claiming that it destroyed a Ukrainian warship and a warehouse ofHarpoonanti-ship missiles.[6]However, no Ukrainian warship was reported lost, and all remain accounted for.

As of 26 July 2022, as a result of rocket attacks in Odesa, eleven civilians were killed: eight (including a three-month-old girl) as a result of an attack on the residential complex "Tiras" on 23 April; one teenager during the attack on the dormitory on 2 May, one employee of the warehouse during the attack on the Suvorovsky district of Odesa on 9 May and a warehouse guard on 20 June.[38]

2023

Transfiguration Cathedralafter missile attack on 23 July
Missile crater in front ofOdesa Fine Arts Museum,6 November
Residential building in Odesa after the attack on 29 December

In the night on 19 July 2023, Russia carried out further missile and drone attacks on the Port of Odesa after withdrawing from theBlack Sea Grain Initiative.Grain and oil terminals were damaged. The Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture claims 60,000 tonnes of grain were destroyed in the attacks.[39]

In the night on July 20, a new attack destroyed an administrative building in Odesa and storage buildings in Odesa region. Among others, the building of theChineseConsulate General[40]and three museums in the buffer zone of the World Heritage site “The Historic Centre of Odesa”(Archaeological,Maritime and Museum of Literature) were damaged. UNESCO condemned the attack.[41][42]

On July 22/23, Russian missiles hit Odesa, including the historic centre, again. 25 architectural monuments were damaged according to local authorities.[43]Transfiguration Cathedral,largest in the city, was partially destroyed. The cathedral was of theUkrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate,which has headquarters in Russia.[44][45]TheHouse of Scientistswas also strongly damaged. At least 6 residential buildings were damaged; one person was killed and 19 injured.[46]

On the evening of 5 November and on the night of 6 November, Russian army attacked Odesa and the region with missiles and kamikaze drones. Some of the drones were shot down, but there were also hits on the port infrastructure (including storage facilities and vehicles with grain). The missiles damagedOdesa Fine Arts Museumand several residential buildings. 8 people were injured.[47][48][49]The attack was condemned by UNESCO.[50]

On 29 December, duringRussian missile and drone attack on Ukraine,21 residential buildings (19 multi-storey and 2 private), as well as a lyceum, were damaged in Odesa. 4 people died and 26 were injured in the city.[51][52][53]

2024

Residential building in Odesa after drone attack on 2 March

As of 23 February 2024, 119 objects of cultural significance were damaged or destroyed in Odesa Oblast.[54]

In the night on 2 March, a 9-storey residential building in Odesa was partially destroyed due to Russian drone attack. 12 people (including 5 children) were killed and 9 were injured. The next day was declared a day of mourning in Odesa region.[55][56]

On 6 March,Russian missile attackkilled in Odesa 5 people. The missile exploded in several hundreds meters from President of UkraineVolodymyr Zelenskyyand Prime Minister of GreeceKyriakos Mitsotakis,who visited Odesa this day. They were unharmed.[57][58]

On 15 March, a missile strike on Odesa killed 21 people and injured at least 73 others.[59]The casualties included senior military and police officers, as well as several civilians.[60]

International reactions

Denise Brown,UNofficial and the Head of the United Nations in Ukraine, condemned Russian attacks on grain storage facilities and port infrastructure, aggravating global food security: "Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be respected – they should never be a target".[61][62]The UN called Russian bombing ofUNESCO World Heritage Sitesin Odesa a possiblewar crime.[63]

Amnesty Internationalalso condemned Russian attacks on Odesa: "...Russia’s threat to treat all ships travelling to Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea as carriers of military equipment reveals its readiness to strip those most in need of critical food supplies for its own military aims and sends a clear message that Russian forces are prepared to commit new war crimes. By stepping up its war of aggression in this manner, Russia is holding some of the world’s lowest income countries hostage to its military and political agenda."[64]

See also

References

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