Russian strike on Odesa kills 1, damages historic cathedral

Odesa, July 23

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Russia struck the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa again on Sunday, keeping up a barrage of attacks that has damaged critical port infrastructure in southern Ukraine in the past week. At least one person was killed and 22 others wounded in the attack in the early hours.

Regional Gov Oleh Kiper said that four children were among those wounded in the blasts, which severely damaged 25 landmarks across the city. They included the historic Transfiguration Cathedral.

Officials said the icon of the patroness of the city was retrieved from under the rubble. “Half of the cathedral is now roofless,” said Archdeacon Andrii Palchuk. The cathedral belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been accused of links to Russia. The church has insisted that it’s loyal to Ukraine and

has denounced the Russian invasion. Odesa’s historic

centre was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO earlier this year despite Russian opposition. — AP

Ukraine’s counteroffensive failure

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine’s counteroffensive “has failed” as he hosted Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in St Petersburg on Sunday. On Ukraine, Lukashenko said “there is no counteroffensive”, while Putin replied, “It exists, but it has failed”.

There’ll be retaliation

There can be no excuse for Russian evil. As always, this evil will lose. And there will definitely be a retaliation to Russian terrorists for Odesa. — Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine President