Ukraine says 20 injured due to overnight Russian drone strikes on port city of Odesa

Ukraine said on Thursday that at least 20 people were injured in the country’s southern port city of Odesa due to an overnight Russian drone attack.

Serhiy Lysak, head of the Odesa City Military Administration, said in a morning statement on Telegram that the overnight attack targeted residential areas and civilian facilities in various parts of the city, with the Prymorskyi District suffering the most damage.

Noting that a high-rise building and a five-story residential building were damaged in the district, Lysak said private houses and residential buildings in the central part of the city were also damaged.

“Social and commercial facilities were hit,” Lysak further said, indicating that a kindergarten building was significantly destroyed, while a shopping center, a hotel, and administrative buildings were damaged.

He also stated that hits were recorded on infrastructure facilities, warehouses, and a garage cooperative in the city’s Khadzhybeiskyi district.

“Unfortunately, 16 people were injured. Among them is a 17-year-old boy. Two people are currently in intensive care in serious condition, and doctors are fighting for their lives,” Lysak added.

In a later statement, Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper announced that the number of those injured by the overnight attack rose to 20.

Ukraine’s Air Force claimed that the country’s air defenses shot down 172 out of 206 drones launched by Russia overnight.

Odesa was targeted in another strike earlier this week, which resulted in 14 injuries and caused damage in three districts of the city.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on the attack.