The death toll is rising in Odessa, Ukraine, where another attack was carried out in the night from Saturday to Sunday. Two civilians were killed and 22 people were injured, four of them children. At least six residential homes and an Orthodox cathedral were damaged in the attack. Dozens of cars were also damaged and many residents were left without power.
On Sunday morning there was still one dead and nineteen injured, a number that was increased around noon in a new balance of the Ministry of the Interior. Four children are among the 22 injured.
“There is no excuse for Russian evil,” President Volodimir Zelenksi said in a Telegram post on Sunday about the attacks. “There will certainly be retaliation,” he added.
The port of Odessa, which has long been the crucial economic link between Ukraine and the rest of the world, has long been under fire. But since this week, those attacks have become increasingly frequent and intense. Kiev accuses Moscow of specifically targeting port infrastructure to prevent Ukrainian grain exports from resuming. The grain deal, which is crucial to the world’s food supply, recently expired.
In recent days, Russia has launched some of its fiercest war raids on Odesa, destroying grain that could have fed tens of thousands of people for a year. The attacks also killed at least one other civilian and injured at least two others. The Kremlin has threatened more hostilities and said it will treat all ships sailing around Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea as military targets.
After meeting Saturday with NATO’s secretary general, Zelensky, who is pushing for more help from NATO, said he hopes a new body will strengthen the alliance between Ukraine and allies.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to meet with his Belarusian counterpart Aleksandr Lukashenko on Sunday, the Kremlin said in a statement. It would be one of the first public encounters for Putin since Lukashenko indicated he would help broker a deal that led to the end of the short-lived Wagner militia mutiny.