Russian missile strike kills 17 near Ukraine’s Odesa, official says

Russian missiles struck a nine-story apartment building and a resort facility near Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa early on Friday, (July 1) killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens, Ukrainian authorities said.

Footage released by the State Emergency Services of Ukraine, shows the aftermath of the missile strike as emergency services searched through debris of the destroyed apartment building. Reuters was not able to independently verify the footage.

The missile struck the building in the town of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi at about 1 a.m. (2200 GMT Thursday), the ministry said in a statement. It also caused a fire in an attached storage building.

Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesman for the Odesa regional administration, told Ukrainian state television that a rescue operation was under way as some people remained buried under the rubble after a section of the building collapsed.

Another missile hit a resort facility, Bratchuk said, wounding several people. Reuters could not independently confirm details of the incident.

(Reuters)