KYIV, Ukraine — Russian drones pummeled the Ukrainian Black Sea port metropolis of Odesa, injuring three individuals and sparking large fires, officers stated Friday, an assault that underlined Moscow’s intention to pursue aerial assaults even because it agreed to quickly halt strikes on vitality amenities.
The strike got here shortly earlier than Czech Republic President Peter Pavel visited Odesa early Friday morning and held conferences with town’s leaders and officers from different southern areas.
“That is one other reminder to the entire world: the struggle continues and Ukraine continues to combat,” the top of the Odesa area, Oleh Kiper, stated in a press release.
He reported blazes at not less than three places after the assault late Thursday. “Civilian infrastructure, industrial amenities are on hearth, vehicles broken,” Kiper stated.
Over 70 individuals and 20 hearth engines have been concerned in extinguishing what the emergency providers referred to as “large fires.”
In one other assault, Russian glide bombs injured not less than six individuals, together with a toddler, within the Zaporizhzhia area in a single day Thursday to Friday. Regional head Ivan Fedorov revealed photographs displaying hearth fighters extinguishing flames at a number of broken residential buildings.
The Ukrainian air power reported that Russia fired 214 exploding drones and decoys within the newest wave of assaults. It stated 114 of them have been intercepted and one other 81 have been jammed.
Russia’s Protection Ministry stated air defenses shot down 43 Ukrainian drones, 34 of them over the Volgograd area and others over Rostov, Kursk and Belgorod areas. The authorities didn’t report any casualties or vital harm.
In the meantime, an enormous blaze at an oil depot within the Krasnodar area has continued to rage because it was hit by a Ukrainian drone assault late Wednesday.
Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the nations’ leaders this week, although it remained to be seen what potential targets can be off limits to assault.
After a roughly hourlong name with Trump on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy advised reporters that “technical” talks in Saudi Arabia this weekend would search to resolve what kinds of infrastructure can be shielded from assault below the settlement.
The three sides appeared to carry starkly completely different views about what the deal coated. Whereas the White Home stated “vitality and infrastructure” can be coated, the Kremlin declared that the settlement referred extra narrowly to “vitality infrastructure.” Zelenskyy stated he would additionally like railways and ports to be protected.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasised Friday that the settlement reached between Trump and Putin referred solely to vitality amenities, including that the Russian navy is fulfilling Putin’s order to halt such assaults for 30 days.
“The Russian navy are at the moment refraining from strikes on Ukraine’s vitality infrastructure in accordance with the settlement reached between Russia and the US,” Peskov stated in a convention name with reporters.
