War in Ukraine, day 790 | Nine injured in Russian drone attack on Odessa

(Kyiv) A nighttime attack by Russian drones left nine people injured, including four children, in Odessa, a large port city on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine, the regional governor said on Tuesday.

This umpteenth Russian strike against Odessa “damaged residential buildings” and caused a fire, Governor Oleg Kiper said on Telegram.

Among the injured were two babies under the age of one and two children aged nine and 12, who were hospitalized, as well as three adults, the governor said.

One person was also injured by falling debris from a downed drone in the Mykolaiv region, also in the south.

Odessa and its region have been very regularly targeted by strikes since the start of the Russian invasion two years ago. In mid-March, 20 people were killed and 70 injured in one of the worst Russian missile attacks on Odessa.

Last week, Ukraine claimed to have shot down a strategic bomber carrying Kh-22 missiles, which Russia often uses, particularly against Odessa. Kyiv hopes the destruction will ease Russian pressure on the city, which had more than a million people before the invasion.

In total, Russia fired two Iskander ballistic missiles and 16 Shahed-type explosive drones at Ukraine overnight from Monday to Tuesday, the Ukrainian army said.

Fifteen of these drones were shot down by air defense, including seven in the Odessa region and four in the Mykolaiv region, according to the army.

Kyiv, a less frequently targeted city, was also targeted by explosive drones overnight, but they were all shot down by air defense, without causing damage or casualties, the capital’s military administration said.