Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia trying to cut Ukraine’s Black Sea access as missile strike on Odesa kills 8
Russia has unleashed an almost continuous drone and missile campaign against Odesa, a region where ports critical to Ukraine's foreign trade and fuel supplies operate.
Russia has unleashed an almost continuous drone and missile campaign against Odesa. (Photo: X/@CforCD)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said the situation in the country’s southern port region of Odesa is “harsh” after Russia stepped up its attacks, trying to block Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea.
Russia steps up attack on Odesa
Zelenskyy’s comments came after a Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa killed eight people and wounded 27. Russia has unleashed an almost continuous drone and missile campaign against Odesa, a region where ports critical to Ukraine’s foreign trade and fuel supplies operate, after Moscow threatened to cut “Ukraine off from the sea.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a news conference after meeting Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof in The Hague, Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Port, bridge hit in Odesa
Some of those wounded in Odesa were on a bus at the center of the strike late Friday, the emergency service said in a Telegram post. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot and cars were also damaged.
The port was struck with ballistic missiles, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region.
On Thursday and Friday, Russian forces targeted a bridge on the Dniester river estuary near the village of Mayaky, northeast of Pivdennyi, Ukrainian officials said.
8 people killed and 27 injured in result of russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa on 19th December
Some of the victims were in a bus that was caught in the epicentre of the attack.
The bridge connects parts of the region fragmented by the undulating sea coast and river estuaries, and is the only main route towards Moldova’s border crossings to the west.
Bridge in Odesa region after Russian attack.
This is the only road leading to the very south of the region and to Moldova. pic.twitter.com/WNyMrrPSPs
“Without significant success on the (battle) front, the enemy is trying to terrorise civilians to create internal destabilisation. These plans are clear, and we are effectively countering them together with the people of Odesa,” Deputy presidential administration head Viktor Mykyta said on Telegram.
🤬🤬🤬 Horrific Attack in Odesa
Civilians were killed in their cars, their only crime? Helping feed the world.
Trucks loaded with fruit and vegetables, waiting to load at the port, were struck again in a missile attack.
The latest round of Russian strikes comes even as a Kremlin envoy was set to travel to Florida for talks on a US-proposed plan to end the nearly four-year war.
Story continues below this ad
The discussions are part of the Trump administration’s monthslong push for peace that also included meetings with Ukrainian and European officials in Berlin earlier this week. Ukraine’s chief negotiator said late Friday that his delegation had completed separate meetings in the US with American and European partners.
Struck transport and storage infrastructure: Russia
The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that over the previous day, it had struck unspecified “transport and storage infrastructure used by the Ukrainian armed forces,” along with energy facilities and those supplying Kyiv’s war effort.
Ukrainian drones hit Russian oil facilities
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil rig, the military patrol ship Okhotnik and other facilities. Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement Saturday that the ship was patrolling in the Caspian Sea near an oil and gas production platform. The extent of the damage was still being clarified, it said.
The drilling platform at the Filanovsky oil and gas field was also hit. The facility is operated by Russian oil giant Lukoil. Ukrainian drones also struck a radar system in the Krasnosilske area of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The company is one of two Russian oil majors — alongside state-owned Gazprom — targeted by recent US sanctions that aim to deprive Moscow of oil export revenue that helps it sustain the war.
Kyiv has used similar arguments to justify months of long-range strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, which it says both funds and directly fuels the Kremlin’s all-out invasion, soon to enter its fifth year.
Putin doubles down on war goals
Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently signaled he is digging in on his maximalist demands on Ukraine, as Moscow’s troops inch forward on the battlefield despite huge losses. On Friday, Putin voiced confidence that the Kremlin would achieve its goals militarily if Kyiv doesn’t agree to Russia’s conditions in peace talks.
Share
Russia has unleashed an almost continuous drone and missile campaign against Odesa. (Photo: X/@CforCD) 
