Odessa is suffering from rocket attacks by the Russian army. The city on the Black Sea has been the target of many attacks because of its port – including this Wednesday. The extraordinary thing this time is that the attack on the port took place while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis were visiting there and the Ukrainian showed his guest nearby the traces and consequences of previous attacks. According to Ukrainian information, five people died.
At the end of the visit to the port, sirens and nearby explosions were heard, Mitsotakis reported: “We didn’t manage to get into a shelter.” Air alerts were also sounded in Odessa.
It is uncertain whether the rocket attack, which the Defense Ministry in Moscow also confirmed, is related to the visit of the two politicians. In the two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been repeated cases of visiting foreign politicians having to seek shelter during air raids. But such an attack has probably never been as violent as today’s one in Odessa.
Did Russia know about the Greek Prime Minister’s visit?
This is unclear – but it is considered likely. When foreign politicians travel to Ukraine, this is usually not announced publicly beforehand, but usually only when they arrive on site. Even when the Ukrainian president travels through the country, the public usually doesn’t know about it. In the case of US President Joe Biden’s trip to Kiev a good year ago, it is known that Russia was informed in advance – just as in the six previous visits by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It is reasonable to assume that the government in Moscow is also informed in advance of other politicians via diplomatic channels. And even if not, there are indications that the Russian secret services will get wind of a high-ranking politician traveling to Ukraine. But that doesn’t automatically mean that this information will reach the soldiers who ultimately fire a rocket towards Ukraine.
What does the government in Moscow say?
The Russian Defense Ministry says a hall in the port of Odessa was destroyed by a “high-precision rocket attack.” Sea drones were prepared for use here. Whether that is true is completely unclear. The only thing that is certain is that sea drones have long been a major problem for the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is why it has repeatedly withdrawn ships from Crimea to more distant ports. It was only on Tuesday that the Ukrainian Navy met the Russian patrol boat off Crimea with unmanned and remotely controlled boats carrying up to 200 kilograms of explosives on board Sergei Kotov severely damaged.
The theory, widespread in the Greek media, that the attack was aimed at Zelenskiy’s motorcade is considered implausible – rockets are not suitable for such targets.
What does the EU say?
EU Commission President von der Leyen sentenced to X the “vile attack” during Zelensky and Mitsotakis’ visit to Odessa. “No one will be intimidated by this new attempted terrorist attack – neither the two local leaders nor the brave people of Ukraine.” The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell writesthe “ruthless attack” once again shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin disregards all norms and his willingness to escalate.
Are such incidents common?
Yes, and German visitors to Ukraine have also felt this. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had to go to a shelter during his visit to Korjukivka in the north of Ukraine because an air alarm had been triggered – that was in October 2022. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has also experienced an air alarm – for example in January 2023 in Kharkiv. And just ten days ago she stopped visiting a waterworks in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv – a Russian reconnaissance drone was spotted in the air, which eventually followed Baerbock’s hastily departing column for a while. And the evening before, she had to go to the shelter of her hotel because of an air alert – in Odessa. So far, there have been no more serious incidents during politicians’ visits.
With material from the dpa news agency