UN Condemns Russian Missile Attack on Odesa

The UN on Saturday condemned a Russian missile attack on the city of Odesa in southern Ukraine that wounded at least seven people and damaged historic buildings.

The Black Sea port, known for its picturesque streets of 19th-century buildings, is regularly targeted by Russian strikes.

“UNESCO condemns the missile attack on the historic centerof Odesa last night, a World Heritage site, severely damaging at least two cultural buildings placed under UNESCO Conventions’ protection,” the UN agency said.

“Our team is already at work to promptly support the urgent documentation of damage and identify with the Ukrainian authorities the required emergency interventions,” it said, adding that a UNESCO mission will be deployed to Odesa.

Regional governor Oleg Kiper wrote on social media that “seven people are known to have been injured in the attack by Russian terrorists on the historical center of Odesa.”

Kiper said in earlier posts that two women and a child were among the wounded.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned what he called an “absolutely deliberate attack by Russian terrorists”, saying it was fortunate there were no deaths.

Kiper posted photos showing rescuers wheeling a woman on a stretcher outside the city’s historic Hotel Bristol. The photos show damage to the 19th-century hotel’s ornate facade and interior, including a grand staircase.

Ukraine’s emergency service posted video showing debris littering the street outside the Bristol and a woman with dust on her clothes being helped by rescuers.

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After the attack, the assailant seized the soldier’s assault rifle and fled with a conscript. Both were later detained during a special operation.

It said firefighters had rescued a woman trapped in one room and extinguished a fire on the roof.

“Among the people who were at the epicenter of the attack were Norwegian diplomatic representatives,” Zelensky said.

“There is a lot of damage and destruction in the UNESCO-protected area,” Odesa’s mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov said.

Odesa’s historic center is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Its Transfiguration Cathedral -- destroyed by the Soviets and rebuilt in the 2000s -- was badly damaged by a Russian strike in July 2023.

“As a result of the explosions, a number of historical monuments, including the Literary, Historical and Local Lore, Archaeological Museums, Museum of Western and Eastern Art, and the Philharmonic, have had their windows smashed and their facades damaged,” Kiper said.

Ukrainian media posted photos showing what appeared to be a large crater near the hotel, and fallen masonry, blown-out windows and debris littering the floor inside.

Russian military bloggers alleged that foreign military specialists were staying in the hotel.