The attack was carried out with four Kalibr cruise missiles in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Ukraine’s air defence shot down three of the missiles, but the fourth hit a warehouse, killing three workers and wounding a further seven, according to officials.
Work was under way to clear the debris and search for people who may be trapped under the rubble, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported.
Falling missile debris also caused damage to a business centre, an educational institution, a residential complex, restaurants and shops in downtown Odesa, injuring six people, according to preliminary estimates, The Kyiv Independent website reported.
In the wake of the attack on Odesa, Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, renewed Ukraine’s call for tougher economic sanctions on Russia.
Yermak wrote on the Telegram social messaging app, as quoted by The Guardian: “The Russians shelled the city with Kalibr cruise missiles. Civilians died. Each of these missiles has at least 40 foreign components.”
He urged: “Without microelectronics, Russia will not be able to produce them. Sanctions must be strengthened, in particular, against those who help the terrorist country to obtain components for weapons.”
Russian attack on Ukraine’s Donetsk region kills three
Meanwhile, three people were killed and another three injured in a Russian rocket attack on the cities of Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province early on Wednesday morning, The Guardian reported.
The strike happened at 5 a.m. local time, destroying at least five houses and damaging another 20 in Kramatorsk, while two houses were destroyed and 55 damaged in Kostyantynivka, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Ukraine downs 3 Russian missiles, 9 UAVs
In all, Ukraine’s air defence shot down three of 10 cruise missiles and nine of 10 kamikaze drones launched by Russia overnight, Kyiv’s Air Force said.
Russian forces fired four Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea in the direction of the Odesa region, three of which were taken down, as well as six Kh-22 air-based cruise missiles from Tu-22M3 bomber planes based in Russia’s Rostov region, which hit Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province, The Kyiv Independent reported.
In addition, Russia launched some 10 Iranian-made Shahed-131/131 kamikaze drones from the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov, nine of which were shot down, according to officials.
Death toll from Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih rises to 12
The number of civilians killed in Russia’s missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Tuesday has increased to 12, the head of the city's Defence Council, Oleksandr Vilkul, said on Wednesday morning.
Tuesday’s strike was carried out using six missiles and targeted a five-storey residential building, a transport company, and a warehouse storing drinking water and other beverages, among other civilian sites, Vilkul said.
A total of 36 civilians were injured in the attack on Kryvyi Rih, according to local authorities, The Kyiv Independent reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 476 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, The Guardian, The Kyiv Independent
