Russian missile strike on Odesa kills 8, including 3-month-old baby girl, Zelensky says

A Russian missile strike on Sunday killed eight people in Odesa, including a three-month-old baby girl, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In an address on Sunday, Zelensky said Russia launched missiles from the Caspian Sea region. At least 18 people were wounded.

The Ukrainian president also said killing children has become “a new national idea” in Russia.

“Today Russia launched another missile strike at Ukraine, at Odesa. As of now – 8 dead. At least 18 wounded. Ordinary peaceful people. Among those killed was a 3-month-old baby girl. How did she threaten Russia? It seems that killing children is just a new national idea of the Russian Federation,” he said.

Images from the scene shared on the city government’s Telegram account showed a damaged housing complex with plumes of thick, black smoke emanating from it, according to The New York Times.

Zelensky said five additional missiles struck the city, hitting “the usual apartment house, the usual high-rise building.”

The Ukrainian president vowed to “identify all those responsible for this strike.”

“Those responsible for Russia’s missile terror. Everyone who gives these orders. Everyone who fulfills these orders. No one will be able to hide. No matter how long it takes us, all these bastards will be responsible for every death they caused,” he added.

The missile attack targeting Odesa, which is in southern Ukraine, occurred in the eighth week of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24. The offensive came the same week the deputy commander of Russia’s Central Military District said Moscow was looking to take full control of the south and east of Ukraine during the conflict.

Zelensky, in his address on Sunday, said Russia’s actions provide “arguments sufficient for the world to eventually recognize the Russian state as a sponsor of terrorism and the Russian army as a terrorist organization.”

“The Russian state has become a terrorist, and it is not ashamed. And if it is not ashamed, it is deliberate. Therefore, there must be maximum responsibility,” he added.

Zelensky’s remarks come the same day he has said he will meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Kyiv.