The Russian army continues its deadly offensive in Ukraine. One person was killed and eight others injured this Friday during airstrikes on Odessa.
While the Ukrainian president considers that the assault launched by Russia against the Kharkiv region (in the east of the country) could only be the first wave of a broader offensiveMoscow’s soldiers continued their attacks, this time on Odessa on the Black Sea coast.
One person was killed and eight others injured Friday following Russian airstrikes, the Ukrainian National Police announced on Telegram. Five people were hospitalized and three others were treated at the scene.
Rescue teams said 58 firefighters and 16 units of equipment brought under control a large fire covering 8,000 square meters.
On the eastern front, Ukrainian troops are still fighting to stop the Russian advance in the Kharkiv region, which began late last week.
Recent Russian attacks have also targeted the eastern Donetsk region, as well as the northern Chernihiv and Sumy regions, and the southern Zaporizhzhia region, apparently seeking to further exploit Ukraine’s already strained resources.
In the country’s second city, two people were killed on Friday after Russian airstrikes and 25 people were injured. Sign of the intensity of the threat, Thursday, the air alarm sounded for more than 16 hoursa record since the start of the Russian military campaign.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine’s “task is to thwart Russia’s attempt to expand the war and prevent the occupier from breaking both the front line and our diplomacy.”
“Of course, we are working to provide Ukraine with more air protection. We work regularly with all our partners and convince them”Zelensky said in his nightly video speech.
He also discussed the current situation of the Ukrainian energy sector, in a context ofRussian attacks on energy infrastructureand called on Ukrainians to be conscious of their electricity consumption.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday showed footage of Russian warplanes and patrol boats destroying six maritime drones in the Black Sea.
The ministry also said that Russian air defenses shot down 51 Ukrainian drones over Crimeaanother 44 over Russia’s Krasnodar region and six over the Belgorod region.
The drone raids on Crimea mark Kyiv’s attempt to retaliate during Moscow’s offensive in northeastern Ukraine, which has increased pressure on the outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine is now waiting delayed deliveries of weapons and ammunition crucial from its Western partners.
