Ukrainian officials confirmed that "Russia executed a new wave of attacks overnight on the Black Sea port of Odesa, resulting in one person dead and 19 injured, including 4 children, in addition to damage to residential and religious infrastructure." The governor of the Odesa region described it as "another night attack by monsters." He stated, "Unfortunately, a civilian was killed."
Initial information indicates that "14 people were hospitalized for treatment, including 3 children." The Odesa military administration noted that the Transfiguration Cathedral sustained severe damage; it is the largest church in Odesa, located in the historic city center, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The head deacon of the cathedral, Andriy Palchuk, told Reuters, "The missile strike ignited a fire that affected one side of it, which houses non-historic religious art pieces for sale to worshippers." He added, "When the right altar of the church, one of the holiest parts of the cathedral, was struck, a missile fragment flew across the entire cathedral and hit the area where we display icons, candles, and books for sale."
The Ukrainian defense ministry indicated that the cathedral "has been destroyed twice," once by Russian President Vladimir Putin and another time by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack on Sunday and vowed to retaliate. He said on Twitter, "There can be no justification for Russian evil. As always, this evil will be defeated. We will definitely respond to what the Russian terrorists did in Odesa. They will feel the weight of this response."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also issued a statement condemning the attack and offered assistance in rebuilding and restoring the cathedral. She stated, "The Russian aggressors are destroying grain warehouses and depriving millions of hungry people worldwide of food. They are hitting our European civilization with tragedy by destroying its sacred symbols."
In its daily report, the Russian defense ministry stated that it hit targets "preparing for terrorist attacks" in the Odesa region and claimed that all targets were destroyed. In a separate statement, the ministry asserted that the Ukrainian reports about a Russian strike on the cathedral were false and that the targets in Odesa were identified at a "safe distance" from the cathedral complex. They added that the "likely reason" for the damage to the cathedral was a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile.
Russia has continued to bomb Odesa and other Ukrainian food export facilities almost daily over the past week following Moscow's withdrawal from the UN-brokered Black Sea grain export agreement, which allowed for the safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments through the Black Sea.
