Russian strike on Odesa kills elderly couple, damages merchant vessel
Ukrainian officials confirm the deaths of a married couple aged 75 and injuries to at least 13 others during overnight attacks that also hit a foreign-flagged ship.
Ukrainian authorities have confirmed that a coordinated Russian assault on Odesa resulted in the deaths of a married couple, both aged 75. The attack, which took place overnight on Thursday, involved the deployment of two ballistic missiles and 107 drones against the southern port city.
According to Ukraine's State Emergency Service, the assault destroyed residential buildings and struck a foreign merchant ship, injuring at least 13 people in total. Serhiy Lysak, head of the local military administration, verified the extent of the damage by sharing images of a building engulfed in flames and another structure torn open along one side.
In a separate incident during the same wave of attacks, a bulk carrier flying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis was struck while transiting a Ukrainian maritime corridor towards a Black Sea port. The impact triggered a fire on the vessel, which the crew successfully extinguished without any injuries reported on board, according to Ukraine's seaports authority.
Ukraine's Air Force stated that while air defences destroyed or jammed 96 of the incoming drones, ten drones and both ballistic missiles recorded hits on Ukrainian territory. Conversely, Moscow claimed its own air defences shot down ten Ukrainian drones during the same period, illustrating the contested nature of the aerial exchange.
This escalation occurs as the conflict in Ukraine enters its fifth year, amidst a backdrop of intensified diplomatic and economic measures. The European Union has recently approved a 90 billion-euro wartime loan for Kyiv to cover funding needs through 2027, while simultaneously imposing new sanctions targeting Russia's energy, banking, and trade sectors.
Russia's mission to the EU has criticised these additional sanctions, arguing they lack United Nations legitimacy and infringe upon the rights of third countries. The measures specifically aim to clamp down on the "shadow fleet" of ageing tankers Moscow utilises to evade oil export restrictions, a strategy that appears to have contributed to the vulnerability of the merchant vessel in the Odesa area.
