At least three people were killed and 13 wounded in a Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa early Wednesday, authorities said. Russia fired four Kalibr missiles from a ship in the Black Sea, Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the region's military administration, said on Telegram. A strike on a retail chain's warehouse killed three employees and wounded seven others, he said. "There may be people under the rubble," he added. Six other people were wounded after a business centre, shops and a residential complex in the city centre were damaged "as a result of air combat and the blast wave", he said.

The attack came a day after missile strikes on the hometown of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky killed 11 people. Odesa was a favourite holiday destination for many Ukrainians and Russians before President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February last year. Since the start of the invasion, Odesa has been bombed several times by Russian forces. In January, the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO designated the historic centre of Odesa as a World Heritage in Danger site.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP