By A Russian strike near Ukraine’s port city of Odesa has claimed four lives, marking the fourth such attack on the Black Sea coastal region in five days. Among the victims were a 16-year-old girl, two women, and a man, all killed when a missile hit a two-floor building housing a mushroom farm where civilians lived and worked, according to local officials.
Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper reported that Russian forces have killed 13 people in just two days, following an attack on a grain ship in the port early Thursday. This recent escalation of attacks has targeted Ukraine’s vital grain export industry, though Russia has not commented on the wave of missile strikes in the Odesa region.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba revealed that Russia has carried out 60 such attacks in the past three months, damaging or destroying nearly 300 port facilities. The attacks have resulted in 79 casualties and damage to 22 civilian vessels.
Kiper suggested to the BBC that Russia is now targeting civilian vessels to harm Ukraine’s economy and intimidate the international community. With other Ukrainian ports in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolayiv regions no longer operational, the Odesa facilities have become increasingly crucial for Ukrainian exports.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on a European tour, meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican before heading to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Zelensky is promoting a “victory plan” to end the war, expressing hope for its conclusion by 2025 and stressing the importance of continued aid to Kyiv.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces continue to make gains. Authorities in the strategically important city of Toretsk report that only 40-50% of the city remains under Ukrainian control. Ukrainian troops, outgunned and outnumbered, are also under pressure in Pokrovsk, with both cities crucial for maintaining army supply lines.
The ongoing conflict has also seen Ukraine target Russian-occupied areas, with a recent strike on a major oil terminal in Crimea. Satellite images show the facility in Feodosia still burning five days after the attack, which Kyiv claims was in retaliation for Russian strikes on Ukrainian power infrastructure.
As the conflict intensifies on multiple fronts, the international community watches closely, with Ukraine continuing to seek support from its allies in the face of persistent Russian aggression.
