According to officials in Ukraine, a missile from Russia struck the southern city of Odesa on Friday, resulting in the deaths of 20 individuals, including those who were part of the rescue efforts.

Over 70 people were injured when two ballistic missiles struck a residential part of the city. The second strike occurred while emergency responders were heading to the area to tend to those affected by the previous attack at the same spot.

The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, condemned the attack as “vile.”

Zelenskyy assured on Telegram that our Defense Forces will go to great lengths to deliver a just response that the Russian killers will feel.

The regional Governor, Oleh Kiper, shared on his Telegram social media account a post containing images of the aftermath, where he reported the casualties to include local citizens, a medical professional, and a member of the rescue team. Additionally, he stated that seven emergency workers were among those who sustained injuries.

Kiper announced that a day of mourning will be observed on Saturday and referred to Russia as a “terrorist nation.”

Russia has stepped up its attacks on Odesa since the middle of last year, after the Kremlin ended a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to ship Ukrainian grain from the city through the Black Sea.

Mass evacuation begins

On Friday, Reuters reported that Ukrainian officials in Sumy, a northern region, announced a large-scale evacuation of inhabitants residing near the border with Russia.

The Telegram channel for the military administration of Sumy region reported that over the course of the last three days, over 180 individuals living near the Velikopysarska community were evacuated.

Officials in Sumy have been reporting prolonged and frequent instances of severe shelling from Russian forces in the region.

Furthermore, on Friday, both Ukraine and Russia both confirmed that they had successfully intercepted hostile drones the night before.

According to a recent social media post, the air force of Ukraine claimed responsibility for shooting down 27 drones that have a similar design to those from Iran. The Russian Defense Ministry responded with a statement on Friday, announcing that they had intercepted five Ukrainian drones and two rockets in the Belgorod and Kaluga regions, located southwest of Moscow.

Officials in Kyiv reported that on Thursday, there was an attack on communications infrastructure in northeastern Ukraine by Russian drones and missiles. The intention behind this action seemed to be to restrict access to information.

Officials report that the attack disrupted TV and radio transmissions in five cities and towns within the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

The governor of Sumy announced that efforts were being made to repair and rebuild TV and radio broadcasts, and that mobile phone signals were mostly restored.

The most recent conflict occurred as the heads of Germany, France, and Poland convened in Berlin on Friday to talk about providing assistance to Ukraine, which is dealing with a shortage of military resources.

After the meeting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that the leaders reached a consensus on the importance of acquiring additional weapons for Ukraine.

During a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, it was announced that surplus profits from Russia’s assets, currently held in Europe, will be allocated to funding the acquisition of weapons for Ukraine.

Macron stated that they will take all necessary actions for however long it takes to prevent Russia from winning the war.

Violence in both Ukraine and Russia coincides with the start of a three-day national election in Russia where President Vladimir Putin is running unopposed, as most potential opponents have been intimidated or imprisoned.

Information in this report was sourced from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and The Associated Press.

Source: voanews.com