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Damage was caused to an infrastructure object, residential buildings and a construction site, which also injured a woman, when Russia attacked Odessa with drones last night, according to reports from the Head of the City Military Administration Serhiy Lysak.
Lysak noted that the woman with shrapnel injuries was admitted to hospital, while another woman was rescued from the rubble and her life was not in danger, later adding that a child had also been injured.
According to preliminary data, the most difficult situation was in the Khadzhibey district where part of a residential building had been destroyed, because there could be people under the rubble, so the search and rescue operation was continuing.
Several multi-apartment residential buildings, private homes, a kindergarten, and a church building in the city centre suffered damage due to the large-scale attack, which involved more than 50 drones approaching the region overnight.
However, reports of further injuries quickly began to surface and the number of casualties increased to 22, according to Lysak, noting that 14 of them had minor injuries and had been treated by medical staff at the scene.
According to the State Emergency Services, more than ten impacts were recorded in the attack on Odessa, damaging a two-story residential building, while an apartment on the second floor of a two-story building was destroyed at another address.
Apartments on the second to fourth floors of a four-story building at third address were destroyed, while fires broke out on the fourth and fifth floors of a nine-story building due to an impact which damaged windows on nearby buildings and several cars at a fourth address.
According to OSINTer AMK Mapping, at least 25 drones visited Odessa last night, with 15 targeting Odessa City and the other 10 targeting the town of Ovidiopol.
At least six impacts were allegedly recorded in Ovidiopol, reported AMK, noting that they likely targeted the 110kV substation that was nearby.
Several drones also impacted an unknown target in the western suburbs of Odessa, continued AMK, noting that multiple-highrise buildings were damaged, large fires broke out, and at least 22 civilians had been wounded.
Later, the National Police of Ukraine released a statement stating that the number of injured had risen to 23: “Private and multi-family residential buildings, a church, a kindergarten, a construction site, and cars were damaged,” the statement read.
“Apartments in several multi-family buildings were destroyed, and there may be people under the rubble – search and rescue operations were ongoing,” the statement added.
Head of the Odessa Regional State Administration Oleg Kiper reported that the Odessa Professional College of Construction and Architecture had suffered the most damage among the educational institutions, noting that it’s not the first time the college had been attacked.
According to the morning reports by Kiper, at least 50 attack drones targeted the region in a massive attack overnight.
Ukrainian Channel 24 reported DTEK released a statement that said: “Russia attacked an energy facility in Odessa that caused “colossal” damage and the repair would take a long time.”
An emergency situation with the equipment of another energy company was also recorded this morning, noted Channel 24, stating that residents of the Odessa region were left without power.
Lysak had a chance to visit the sites this morning, reporting that 43 buildings were damaged in the Primorsky district of Odessa, with 3 more in the Peresypsky district, as a search and rescue operation continued in Khadzhibeysky because three people were still considered missing.
Soon after, the body of a man was found under the rubble at the site of the explosion in the Peresyp district, reported Lysak.
Resident Yevheniy Mykhailovych was still waiting to hear about his 52-year-old daughter, believed to be under the rubble of a house in Odessa: “We’re searching, we’re waiting – will they find her or not?”
Mykhailovych added that they lived nearby, so they came straight away when a call was received about a drone hitting the house.
Another resident explained to the media: “We tried to get the children dressed, but we didn’t manage to do it in time, we were too scared – and at that moment, when we were in the corridor, a ‘shahid’ flew into the house.”
As of 1pm, the number of victims had increased to 35, according to the Director of the City’s Health Department Elena Kolodenko, noting that 12 were admitted to hospital, including two children and one pregnant woman, while another had suffered burns and was in a serious condition, and others were in moderate conditions.
