Russian missiles rained down on the Black Sea port city of Odesa in Ukraine on Friday, resulting in a devastating toll of casualties, including more than a dozen fatalities, among them rescue workers.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack as “vile”.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror as bodies, including those of rescue workers, were strewn across the streets, covered by blankets.
Images from officials depicted exhausted emergency service personnel, stained with blood and dirt, battling flames and attending to the wounded.
According to local authorities, the Russian aerial bombardments targeted residential buildings, ambulances, and a gas pipeline, leading to the death of at least 20 individuals and injuring another 73, including rescuers.
Maria Slyzovska, who witnessed the assault, recounted the devastation caused by the consecutive strikes, leaving her mother’s home shattered.
She described the chaotic aftermath with a multitude of casualties, ambulances, and blood, reflecting the grim reality faced by residents amid the ongoing conflict.
President Zelensky condemned the attack, highlighting the use of a double-tap strike tactic by Russian forces, which targeted both the port hub and the rescue workers at the scene.
City officials attributed the assault to Russian missiles launched from the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014.
Presidential aide Andriy Yermak denounced the violence, characterizing it as “Russian terror” and emphasizing the enemy’s brutality towards Ukrainian civilians, even as it struggles to maintain security within its own borders.
