Bombardment with ballistic missiles on the port of Odessa. “One of the biggest” attacks since the start of the war

A ballistic missile attack by Russian forces late Friday on port infrastructure around the Black Sea city of Odesa in Ukraine killed seven people and wounded 15 others, Ukrainian officials said, according to Reuters and The Kyiv Independent.

“Late in the evening, Russia attacked the port infrastructure in the Odesa region with ballistic missiles,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba wrote in a message published on the Telegram messaging app.

Kuleba and Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said that according to initial reports, seven people were killed and 15 others wounded.

The Russian bombing also caused a fire among cargo trucks in the parking lot of the port facilities, according to Kiper.

Emergency services are on the scene, but air raid sirens continue to disrupt operations, he added.

A Ukrainian source familiar with the details told Reuters that the attack targeted Pivdennyi, one of the three ports in the area.

The Ukrainian Air Force warned of a Russian ballistic missile threat at 21:00 local time on the evening of December 19. A few minutes later, explosions were reported in the Odesa region.

Kiper described the Friday-Saturday night attack as “one of the biggest” since the start of the war.

Odessa, a hub for Ukraine's exports of grain and other products, has been a frequent target of attacks since Russia invaded its smaller neighbor in February 2022.

The intensity of the bombing by Russian forces has increased in recent days. An attack damaged a bridge southwest of Odesa and disrupted an important route between that city and the port of Reni on the Danube, complicating activities at the border points to the Republic of Moldova and Romania, Reuters notes.

Russia has consistently targeted civilian power and utility systems across Ukraine as part of its broader campaign against critical Ukrainian infrastructure.