Russia launched a drone attack on Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa early Wednesday but there were no reports of casualties, authorities said.
“At night, the enemy carried out an attack by UAVs of the Shahed-136 type on the Odesa region,” Yuriy Kruk, head of the Odesa district military administration, said in a statement on Telegram.
Kruk said Ukraine’s air defences had destroyed most of the attacking drones but some civilian infrastructure had been hit.
“According to preliminary information, there were no casualties. Measures are being taken to contain the fire, units of the State Emergency Service and other structures are working on the spot.”
General Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, stated in a Telegram update that the Odesa air defenses had destroyed 10 of 12 “kamikaze” drones.
According to Ukraine’s military staff, Russia launched four missiles and 60 air strikes in the last day, as well as 58 rocket attacks, injuring people.
The Shahed-136 is a small self-detonating drone produced in Iran that can be programmed to fly automatically to a set of GPS coordinates carrying an explosive payload.
International sanctions have damaged Russia’s drone sector, and a number of them have been shot down since the war began, pushing Moscow to acquire drones from Iran.
Before President Vladimir Putin launched troops into Ukraine in February last year, the Black Sea town of Odesa was a popular vacation spot for both Ukrainians and Russians.
Russian soldiers have blasted Odesa multiple times since the beginning of the invasion. It was also subjected to a drone attack two weeks ago, which resulted in some damage.
The old center of Odesa was named a World Heritage in Danger site by the United Nations cultural body UNESCO in January.
