Ukraine vows retaliation to deadly Odesa strikes

Kyiv: Russia struck the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa again on Sunday, keeping up a barrage of attacks that has damaged critical port infrastructure in southern Ukraine in the past week. At least one person was killed and 22 others wounded in the attack in the early hours, officials said.

Regional Gov Oleh Kiper said that four children were among those wounded in the blasts, which severely damaged 25 landmarks across the city. They included the historic Transfiguration Cathedral.

Ukrainian leader Volodmyr Zelenskyy promised to strike back at Russia for the deadly attack, which involved 19 missiles and also wounded 22 people

“Missiles against peaceful cities, against residential buildings, a cathedral,” Zelensky said. “There will definitely be a retaliation against Russian terrorists for Odesa.”

After the fires were put out, volunteers donned hard hats, shovels and brooms at the cathedral

to begin removing rubble, combing through to salvage any artifacts under the watchful gaze of the saints whose paintings remained intact. Local officials said that the icon of the patroness of the city was retrieved from under the rubble.

“The destruction is enormous, half of the cathedral is now roofless,” said Archdeacon Andrii Palchuk, as cathedral workers brought documents and valuable items out of the building, the floor of which was inundated with water used by firefighters to extinguish the fire. Palchuk said the damage was caused by a direct hit from a Russian missile that penetrated the building down to the basement. Two people who were inside at the time of the strike were wounded.