Russia fires cruise missiles at Odesa, shelling kills six in Ukraine’s Donetsk region

Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that six people were killed due to a result of Russian forces firing cruise missiles in the city of Odesa overnight, conducting rounds of shelling that destroyed homes in the eastern Donetsk region. 

In a Telegram post, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote that at least three residents died and seven homes were destroyed due to shelling, adding that dozens more homes in the cities of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka were damaged. 

Odesa’s regional administration wrote in a Facebook post that Russia’s cruise missiles attack resulted in the deaths of three employees at a local food warehouse and wounded seven others. The cruise missile attack also destroyed local homes, shops, businesses, and restaurants in the city. 

The regional administration also said that the country’s air defenses were able to intercept three out of the four Kalibr cruise missiles Russia launched from the Black Sea. 

The latest bombardment comes as Russia has increased its aerial strikes in its ongoing war with its neighbor, with Ukraine’s General Staff spokesperson Andriy Kovalov saying that the recent onslaught involved Kh-22 cruise missiles, sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles, and Iranian-made Shahed drones, targeting multiple regions in the country. 

Ukraine launched a long-planned counteroffensive last week, already reclaiming seven villages from Russian forces. 

February marked a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, which has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, tens of thousands of military casualties on both sides and the displacement of Ukrainian citizens all over Europe. 

The Associated Press contributed.