Russia launched the attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa on Wednesday during a visit by Greek President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Neither man was injured and they continued their visit to the strategic port city. It was unclear whether the Russian Army was specifically targeting them or how close they came to the blast.
Mitsotakis told a news conference in Odessa that he and Zelensky were visiting the city’s port when the attack occurred. “We heard sirens and explosions very close to us,” he said. “We don’t have time to go to a shelter.”
Ukrainian navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchak said Russia attacked the city’s port infrastructure, killing five people.
“You know who we’re dealing with,” Mr. Zelensky said. “They don’t care where the attack is, whether they are military, civilians or international guests – it doesn’t matter to these people.”
Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian lawmaker who was in Odessa at the time of the attack, said the attack took place around 10:40 a.m. “I heard an explosion and I was very close to the port,” he said in a text message. “It was very loud.”
It was unclear what weapons Russia used, but the Ukrainian air force reported the possible deployment of ballistic missiles. Mr Pletenchuk said the investigation was ongoing.
Russia says its troops have been mobilized “The Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing for the combat use of unmanned boats and carried out a high-precision missile attack on a hangar in the industrial port area of Odessa.”
Ukraine regularly uses maritime drones to attack ships of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. On Tuesday, it claimed to have sunk a patrol ship off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea. British military intelligence said: “This is the third Russian Black Sea Fleet ship to be sunk in the past five weeks.”
Odessa is the lifeline of Ukraine’s economy, with extensive port infrastructure critical to Ukraine’s Black Sea exports. Many ships depart from the port to transport grain and other agricultural products across the Black Sea.
But over the past six months, Russia has been targeting grain silos and naval infrastructure with drones and missiles.
These attacks also resulted in civilian casualties, either from direct targets or from falling debris. Last week, a drone hit a residential building, killing 12 civilians. It took rescuers several days to pull bodies, including those of babies and children, from the rubble.
Zelensky and Mitsotakis visited the site of last week’s attack on Wednesday to express condolences for the victims and lay flowers at a makeshift memorial in front of the building. They also visited a cathedral that had been severely damaged in a previous Russian missile attack.
The Ukrainian leader told a news conference that Wednesday’s attack “shows that we first need to defend ourselves.”