Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s Odesa for third time

Rescuers extinguish a fire in a postal warehouse in Odesa. Pic/AP

Russia struck the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa with ballistic missiles in a nighttime attack, injuring 14 people and starting a massive blaze, local officials and emergency services said.

The third attack on the city in a week hit a sorting depot belonging to Ukraine's biggest private delivery company, Nova Poshta. No staff were injured, the company said in a statement, but the strike started a major fire. On Monday, six people were killed in a Russian missile strike on Odesa, and two days later three people died there after the Kremlin's forces targeted civilian infrastructure.

Long-range strikes have been a feature of Europe's biggest conflict since World War II, which mostly has focused on attrition. Kyiv officials have pleaded for more air defense systems from Ukraine's Western partners, but they have been slow in coming. Cities in Russia's crosshairs, including recent target Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, are pulverized by Moscow's missiles, drones and glide bombs.

Meanwhile, the Russian forces have pushed Ukraine onto the back foot on the battlefield as Kyiv grapples with shortages of troops and ammunition against a bigger enemy. Ukrainian forces are now racing to build more defensive fortifications.

US says Russia used ‘chemical weapon'

The US has accused Russia of the use of the chemical weapon chloropicrin, a "choking agent" widely used during World War I, as well as tear gas against Ukrainian troops in the ongoing conflict, and has ordered the sanctioning of over 280 individuals and entities to impose additional costs on Russia for its foreign aggression. Use of these gases in warfare is banned.

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