According to Ukrainian sources, three civilians were killed and numerous others injured in a Russian air raid on Odessa. Debris from a downed drone fell on a block of flats and started a fire.
In the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, several people were injured and killed by nighttime Russian drone strikes. “As a result of an air battle, debris from a drone fell into the apartment of a multi-storey house and started a fire,” the high command of the Ukrainian Army Group South said on Facebook. The flames killed three civilians and injured 26 others.
The Ukrainian Air Force later said Russia directed 35 drones and eight missiles at targets in Ukraine. 20 Iranian Shahed drones and two ballistic missiles were shot down. In addition to Odessa, the Russian attacks were also aimed at targets in the Poltava region and in Kharkiv.
Moscow claims that only strategically important targets and military units in Ukraine are attacked with drones and missiles. However, civilians are also victims of these attacks again and again.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
Putin announces the start of the counteroffensive
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the long-announced Ukrainian counter-offensive has begun. “We can definitely say that this Ukrainian offensive has started,” Putin said in an interview with Russian state television. Previously, some international media, citing Ukrainian military representatives, had suspected that the operation to liberate areas occupied by Russia had been going on for a few days.
Zelenskyj thanks soldiers
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not contradict Putin’s claims in his daily video address, but did not confirm them either. Zelenskyy praised his armed forces for their “heroism”. “For our soldiers, for everyone who is in particularly hard fighting these days. We see your heroism and we are grateful to you for every minute of your lives.”
In his speech, Zelenskyi did not mention any details about developments at the front. But he held a meeting with the high command. The Ukrainian soldiers pay attention to all places “where our actions are needed and the enemy could suffer certain losses”. Officials in Ukraine recently said the armed forces were ready for the expected counter-offensive, but there would be no formal announcement of their launch.