Overseas leaders have made frequent journeys to Ukraine all through the nation’s two years of warfare with Russia, and this isn’t the primary time there was a strike on a metropolis at similar time as one’s go to. However Wednesday’s incident stood out for a way shut the missile strike was to each Zelensky and Mitsotakis — what some Western leaders condemned as a brand new low for Moscow, which has dedicated hundreds of atrocities in opposition to civilians all through its invasion.
European Council President Charles Michel wrote on X that the assault was “one other signal of Russia’s cowardly techniques in its warfare of aggression in opposition to Ukraine.”
“That is reprehensible and beneath even the Kremlin’s playbook,” Michel added.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Fee, stated on X: “Nobody is intimidated by this new try at terror — definitely not the 2 leaders on the bottom nor the courageous folks of Ukraine. Greater than ever, we stand by Ukraine.”
Zelensky and Mitsotakis had been visiting the Odessa port when, about 10:40 a.m., air raid sirens had been heard. The explosion then occurred inside minutes.
“We witnessed the strike right this moment,” Zelensky instructed reporters afterward. “You see who we’re coping with; they don’t care the place to hit. I do know there have been casualties right this moment; I don’t know all the small print but, however I do know there are casualties.”
“Whether or not they’re army, civilians, worldwide company — it doesn’t matter to those folks,” he added. “Both they’ve misplaced their minds, or they don’t have any management over their terrorist military’s actions. This emphasizes the necessity for us to defend ourselves, and one of the best ways is thru an air protection system.”
Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Navy, stated there have been 5 deaths and different accidents on account of the strike on port infrastructure. “Investigative actions are ongoing,” he stated.
Zelensky has continuously traveled all through Ukraine through the warfare and has typically visited front-line places at nice danger. However Wednesday would mark one of many closest requires each the president and a visiting overseas chief. Almost two years earlier, in Could 2022, it was Michel who was scrambling for canopy in Odessa throughout one other missile strike.
On Wednesday, Mitsotakis was quoted by the Ukrainian state broadcaster as saying, “We heard the sound of sirens and explosions that had been very near us. We didn’t have time to go to a secure place.
“It was a really placing expertise,” Mitsotakis added. “We perceive that this warfare issues everybody; there are not any people who find themselves exterior of the warfare. Battle spares nobody, and Ukraine is resisting barbaric drive. It’s completely different to learn in regards to the warfare within the newspaper and to really feel it, to listen to it with your individual ears.”
Odessa has been significantly hard-hit in latest days, and Zelensky has pointed to delays by allies in supplying air protection as contributing to the rising toll of civilian deaths within the metropolis. Over the weekend, a Russian assault on an residence constructing killed 12, together with 5 kids. Zelensky and Mitsotakis visited the location of the March 2 strike, every laying a bouquet of flowers at a makeshift memorial in entrance of the constructing.
As a result of drones and missiles heading for Odessa are sometimes launched from the close by occupied Crimean Peninsula, additionally on the Black Sea, folks there sometimes have little time to hunt shelter after an air alert is asserted.
The town, which has deep symbolic significance for imperial Russians, can also be an financial lifeline for Ukraine with its busiest port. Ukraine has continued to export grain out of Odessa regardless of Russia final yr exiting a deal that allowed cargo ships secure passage to sail alongside a hall within the Black Sea.
“The world has sufficient missile protection techniques, techniques to guard in opposition to Shahed drones and missiles,” Zelensky stated in a latest deal with on his social media, referring to Iranian-made assault drones utilized by Russia. “And delaying the provision of weapons to Ukraine, missile protection techniques to guard our folks, leads, sadly, to such losses.”
Although Zelensky didn’t particularly seek advice from the US, Ukraine’s largest donor of weapons, a brand new safety help package deal from Washington has been stalled in Congress for months.
Hours after the strike on Odessa, shelling struck a shopping mall within the southeastern Ukrainian metropolis of Nikopol, inflicting a big hearth to interrupt out. The variety of casualties was nonetheless unclear.
Serhii Korolchuk in Kyiv and John Hudson in Washington contributed to this report.
