Russia Withdraws from Snake Island, Bombs Odessa Apartments, Killing 18 People

A Russian-made FAB500 unexploded high-explosive bomb embedded in an apartment building in Kharkiv, Ukraine [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] The Russian military launched a missile strike on apartments and resorts in residential areas of the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa late at night, killing at least 18 people.

According to AP News and others, the Ukrainian government announced on the 1st (local time) that a 9-story apartment building and a resort in Serhiivka village, about 50 km southwest of Odesa Port, were hit by Russian missiles, resulting in 18 deaths.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, stated that among the deceased were two children. Serhii Bratchuk, spokesperson for Odesa Oblast, reported via Telegram that about 30 people were injured.

Maxym Marchenko, governor of Odesa Oblast, said on Telegram that Russia launched KH-22 (Burya) missiles from the Black Sea direction around 1 a.m. that day, attacking residential areas. These missiles were also used during the Russian airstrike on a shopping mall in Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, central Ukraine, on the 27th of last month. At that time, Russia attacked a mall where about 1,000 people had gathered, killing 19 civilians.

Odesa, a port city on the Black Sea, is one of Ukraine's largest logistics hubs and a strategic stronghold.

On April 23, Russian cruise missiles also struck residential areas in Odesa, causing dozens of casualties including a 3-month-old infant.

Foreign media have noted that this attack occurred just one day after Russia announced its withdrawal from Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island), considered the largest strategic point in the Black Sea.

Russia claimed it decided to withdraw on humanitarian grounds to show it would not block Ukraine's grain exports, but the prevailing view is that it was forced out due to persistent attacks by the Ukrainian military.

Although Russia has recently increased the frequency of missile attacks outside the Donbas region, the fact that it bombed areas near Odesa Port, a strategic port close to Snake Island, has led to interpretations that this was an act of retaliation for the withdrawal from Snake Island.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.