Odesa/Illustrative photo
The incident being discussed pertains to the shelling on March 6.
Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army «South», shared details with Hromadske Radio.
He revealed that the launch originated from a location within the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, near Dzhankoy.
«We can confirm that the enemy deployed ballistic missiles. We are currently investigating further, and a detailed clarification will be provided. The enemy’s objective was an attempt to target the port infrastructure. Unfortunately, we have lost five lives. Our hope is that this tragic toll will not increase with new casualties. There are individuals with injuries of varying severity; preliminary reports suggest five people requiring medical attention. They are all under the care of medical professionals, and we trust in their swift recovery», — stated Bratchuk.
He emphasized that there has been a recent escalation in attacks on Odesa, occurring almost daily.
«This morning, we experienced a prolonged air raid alarm. The enemy attempted an attack from the Black Sea using tactical aircraft. While there was a missile threat towards the Odesa region, the target ceased to exist».
Many, including foreign media, link the March 6 attack to the visit of the Greek Prime Minister, suggesting that the attack targeted Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s motorcade. However, Bratchuk, speaking for the military, mostly denies this version.
«From a psychological and emotional perspective, it’s understandable that when the Supreme Commander-in-Chief is in the city with foreign colleagues and such an event occurs, there’s a desire to connect the two. However, personally, and not only speaking for myself, I do not connect this event with the visit of our distinguished guests in any way. The war is ongoing, and the Odesa region has been under enemy attacks almost every day recently», — explained Bratchuk.
As a reminder, on March 6, the Russians launched another missile attack on Odesa, resulting in casualties and injuries. Additionally, during that time, a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took place in the city.