The sound of a loud explosion rang out in the Ukrainian port of Odessa as the Ukrainian president and Greek prime minister concluded their visit to the war-devastated city.
The sound of a loud explosion echoed around the Ukrainian port of Odessa as President Volodymyr Zelensky and Greece’s prime minister concluded a tour of the war-devastated port city on Wednesday. According to Ukrainian authorities at least 5 people died.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said delegations were getting into their vehicles when they heard the explosion, which he described as “brutal reminder” due to the fact that Odessa is in the grip of war with Russia. It is one thing to hear about the war and “it’s another thing to experience it directly“Mitsotakis said.
According to Mr. Zelenskyy, the explosion left an unknown number of dead and injured. “You see who we’re dealing with, they don’t care where to strike” he told reporters. Russian authorities had no immediate comment.
Visits kept secret
Volodymir Zelensky visited cities and military units on the front lines during the war, always in secrecy until he left. Foreign leaders have made numerous trips to Ukraine and sometimes had to take refuge in shelters when air alert sirens sounded.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned on X, formerly Twitter, what she called the “despicable attack” during the visit to Greece. She spoke of a “new attempt at terror” on the part of Russia.
Mr. Zelenskyy showed Mr. Mitsotakis the destruction in Odessa, where 12 people, including five children, were killed when debris from a Russian drone struck an apartment building on March 2.
Mitsotakis said Odessa held a special place in Greek history because it was where the Filiki Etairia organization, which fought for Greek independence from Ottoman rule in the 19th century.