Ukraine said on Tuesday that Russian forces had launched multiple missile strikes at targets on the Black Sea coast near the southern port city of Odessa and in Mykolaiv.
The attacks come days after Russian strikes hit the port of Odessa, calling into question a breakthrough deal to resume exports of grain from Ukraine, that have been disrupted by Moscow’s invasion.
“A massive missile attack, with the use of aircraft, was launched from the Black Sea on the south of Ukraine,” the country’s southern military command said on Facebook.
Rescuers were working on the ground near Odessa where “residential buildings” near the coast were hit in the strikes, the military said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published a video showing debris scattered around heavily damaged houses in Zatoka, a popular resort village to the west of Odessa.
“No military bases, no troops. Russian terrorists just wanted to shoot. They will be held accountable for all this,” Zelensky said in an Instagram post.
The military said that “port infrastructure” was targeted in the neighboring Mykolaiv region, which was also hit by S-300 missile systems deployed in the Russia-controlled Kherson region.
Governor Vitaliy Kim posted a video of the attack on the city of Mykolaiv, showing multiple explosions and clouds of black smoke rising from the ground.
“A critical infrastructure object and a motor vehicle business were damaged,” Kim said on Telegram.
The mayor of Mikolaiv said the city’s boiler facility had been damaged.
Kyiv said on Monday it was still pushing on with preparations to restart exports and hoped to send the first ships out from one of three ports in the Odessa region this week.
President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video shot in Zatoka, a resort in Odesa Oblast, following a Russian attack on July 26. The video shows buildings on fire and multiple destructions.
"They will be punished for everything. Each of them," Zelensky wrote. pic.twitter.com/Ms19OacgBo
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 26, 2022
