An overnight Russian drone attack on Ukraine's southern city of Odesa has wounded at least 10 people, including two children, and inflicted severe structural damage across several residential neighbourhoods, Ukrainian officials confirmed on Monday morning.
According to preliminary reports from emergency services, the drones, believed to be Iranian-designed Shahed loitering munitions, frequently utilised by Russian forces for their ability to swarm and overwhelm air defences,struck multiple civilian targets across the historic Black Sea port.
Lysak said several high-rise residential buildings suffered direct hits or severe blast damage from intercepted drone debris, blowing out windows and igniting secondary fires. A local hotel was also struck, alongside various other commercial and public facilities in the centre of the city.
The human toll was concentrated in this central hub. "Most of the injured people were located there," Lysak stated, confirming that emergency medical teams had treated 10 individuals for various trauma injuries, shrapnel wounds, and smoke inhalation.
City under constant siege
The assault was not confined solely to the city centre. "It was an extremely difficult night," Lysak added. He noted that beyond the Prymorskyi district, private homes, multi-story residential blocks, and civilian vehicles came under sustained attack in at least two other distinct districts of the sprawling municipality.
He said that fire brigades worked tirelessly through the night to extinguish blazes sparked by the drone impacts, preventing the fires from spreading through densely packed residential blocks.
As Ukraine's major Black Sea port, Odesa serves as the focal point for the nation's vital agricultural and industrial exports. The ability of Ukraine to ship grain and raw materials to international markets hinges almost entirely on the operational security of Odesa's maritime infrastructure. Consequently, the city has been repeatedly and ruthlessly targeted by Russian missile and drone attacks over the course of more than four years of continuous war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Elsewhere, an employee of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, controlled by Russian forces, was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack, the Russian-installed management of the station said in a Telegram post on Monday.
"A driver was killed today when a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone struck the transport department at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," the post said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said its team on the site will look into the incident and continue to monitor the situation.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi reiterated that strikes on or near nuclear power plants "can endanger nuclear safety and must not take place," the Vienna-based agency cited him as saying in a post on social media platform X.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday that its forces had taken control of the villages of Illichivka and Taratutyne in eastern Ukraine, the state-run RIA news agency reported.
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report.
Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are drawing up a new programme aimed at boosting bilateral trade to $1 billion by 2030, as the two countries move to deep...
Australia on Thursday condemned Israel’s decision to close its criminal investigation into the deaths of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom ...
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to res...
The collective-defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signals that regional powers no longer want to rely solely on external security guarantees. Whether it becomes a stabilising deterrent or another axis of rivalry remains unresolved.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 19th of August, covering the latest developments.
Australia on Thursday condemned Israel’s decision to close its criminal investigation into the deaths of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six World Central Kitchen colleagues killed in Gaza in April 2024.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
North Korea has fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles after U.S. President Donald Trump reduced American participation in joint military exercises with South Korea in an effort to revive dialogue with Pyongyang.
Georgia’s foreign trade data for January-July 2026 shows Kyrgyzstan, China and Russia as its top three export markets, highlighting its Middle Corridor ambitions and complex economic ties with Moscow.
Kazakhstan will vote on 23 August in its first parliamentary election under the new Constitution, choosing 145 members of the new Kurultai under a fundamentally changed electoral system based entirely on party lists.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment