Russian missile strike kills eight at Odesa port as Ukraine hits warship

A Russian missile strike on Odesa’s port killed eight people and injured 27. Ukraine later said it hit a Russian warship, oil platform, and radar system with drones, expanding attacks beyond the front lines.

Kyiv: Eight people were killed and 27 wounded in a Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa, southern Ukraine, late on Friday, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said on Saturday morning.

Some of the wounded were on a bus at the epicentre of the overnight strike, the service said in a Telegram post. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot, and cars were also damaged.

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The port was struck with ballistic missiles, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region. Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces hit a Russian warship and other facilities with drones, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement on Saturday.

The nighttime attack on Friday hit the Russian warship “Okhotnik,” according to the statement posted to the Telegram messaging app. The ship was patrolling in the Caspian Sea near an oil and gas production platform. The extent of the damage is still being clarified, the statement added.

A drilling platform at the Filanovsky oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea 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.