News is being updated
[Updated at 14:15]: The National Police report that the number of people injured in the missile attack on Odesa has risen to 11.
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[Updated at 13:04]: President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to the attacks on Odesa and Kharkiv, posting on Telegram:
“A rescue operation is currently underway after a missile strike in Kharkiv. At this time, 19 people are known to have been injured. Dozens of attack drones targeted Zaporizhzhia, injuring a child. Odesa was attacked, and damage was caused by falling missile fragments. And this is just one day of Russian terror against Ukraine.”
He added that since Sunday evening, Russia has launched approximately 150 attack drones, air bombs, and missiles targeting over ten Ukrainian regions. Combat operations are ongoing to counter threats still in the air.
“These Russian attacks on Ukrainian life can be stopped—with pressure, sanctions, blocking the occupiers' access to the components they use to create these instruments of terror, arms packages for Ukraine, and unwavering determination,” Zelensky wrote.
Russian forces launched a missile attack on the center of Odesa, resulting in casualties, according to the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration (OVA), Oleh Kiper, who shared the news on Telegram.
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 26, 2024
“Russian terrorists launched a missile attack on the center of Odesa. There are casualties,” Kiper wrote.
He also added that civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, had been damaged. Further updates on the situation will be provided as information becomes available, Kiper noted.
Local Telegram channels reported that a reconnaissance drone was seen flying over the city prior to the missile strike. Another drone is currently being observed, sparking concerns about additional attacks.
“There may be repeated launches; the threat remains until the end of the day,” one message warned.
Videos of the aftermath, circulating on social media, show significant destruction in a densely populated residential area.
Later, the first deputy head of the Odesa OVA, Oleksandr Kharlov, reported that six people were injured in the Russian attack.
One person is in serious condition, with doctors fighting to save her life, while five others sustained moderate injuries.
Kharlov added that the missile strike in Odesa damaged residential buildings and two educational institutions—a school and a university gymnasium. Windows and doors in these structures were blown out by the blast.
In the morning, Russian forces also fired missiles at the center of Kharkiv. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, speaking during a telethon, said that the strike damaged the Administrative Services Center building, injuring several employees.
“Preliminarily, it appears to have been an S-400 missile. It landed near the Kyiv District Administration in Kharkiv, where the Administrative Services Center is located,” Terekhov said.
The injured include both visitors and employees of the center.
According to Oleh Synehubov, head of the Kharkiv OVA, the number of injured had risen to 23 as of 11:44 a.m., with 14 hospitalized.
“Among the injured are five patients in the surgical department, five receiving outpatient care, two referred for neurosurgical treatment, and two more undergoing examination,” Synehubov wrote.
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