At least 21 people were killed in a Russian attack, according to Ukrainian sources. The projectiles are said to have hit a residential building and a leisure area. President Zelenskyy speaks of a targeted attack.

At least 21 people were killed in Russian missile attacks in the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa, according to civil defence officials. Initially, there was talk of ten fatalities, and at least 39 people were reportedly injured.

According to Ukrainian media reports, the target of the early morning attack on the Serhiyivka community was a multi-storey residential building and a leisure area. According to the military administration, a total of three Russian missiles hit their targets, fired by Russian Tu-22 bombers over the Black Sea. Deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said two children were among the dead. Serhiyivka is located in the Odessa district, 50 kilometres southwest of the port city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of a targeted attack. “This is a targeted rocket attack by Russia, Russia’s terror against our towns and villages, against our people, adults and children,” Zelenskyy said, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

At least 18 people were killed in a missile attack on a shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Monday. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied any responsibility for his country’s armed forces. The missile attack on the apartment building in the Odesa region came shortly after Russia withdrew from Ukraine’s Snake Island in the Black Sea. Kyiv celebrated the withdrawal of Russian soldiers there as a significant military victory.

Image by President of Ukraine (Flickr)/Attribution Universal (CC0 1.0)