A new attack on the Ukrainian port of Odessa left at least two dead and 22 injured, according to kyiv. Unesco condemned “with the greatest firmness” the “brutal strikes carried out by Russian forces” which affected several sites in the city center, classified as World Heritage of Humanity.
Ukraine has promised “reprisals”Sunday July 23, after the shooting in the night of “19 missiles” Russians on Odessa, which left two dead and “destroy” a historic cathedral. For his part, Vladimir Putin, who receives Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Saint Petersburg (Russia), affirmed that the Ukrainian counter-offensive launched at the beginning of June had “failed”. Franceinfo looks back on the highlights of the day.
Russian strikes on Odessa leave two dead and largely destroy the cathedral
Regularly targeted by Russian strikes, Odessa, on the Black Sea, whose historic center was listed at the beginning of the year by Unesco as a world heritage site, was again targeted. This new night attack left two dead and 22 injured, including at least four children, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
Inside the largely destroyed Transfiguration Cathedral, debris lies on the ground as residents attempt to clear the area. Collapsed walls, burnt icons, rattling chandeliers: this splendid building over 200 years old is devastated. “All the decorations are practically destroyed. Only the bell tower is intact”lamented Father Myroslav, the deputy rector of the cathedral. “There will definitely be reprisals”, promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denounced “a war crime that will never be forgotten or forgiven”.
UNESCO condemns attack “against the cultural heritage of Ukraine”
In Paris, where its headquarters are, Unesco has condemned “with the greatest firmness” THE “brutal strikes carried out by Russian forces”. “These terrible destruction marks a new escalation of violence against Ukraine’s cultural heritage”, denounced the director general of Unesco, Audrey Azoulay. Twenty-five monuments were damaged in Sunday’s strikes, according to regional governor Oleg Kiper, who accused the Russian military of having “deliberately aimed its missiles at the historic center of Odessa”.
In a letter to Russian Patriarch Kirill posted on social media, Archbishop Viktor of the Odessa Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church called for “stop the bloodshed!” While the city’s mayor, Gennady Trukhanov said: “If you knew how much Odessa hates you. She hates you, she despises you too. You are fighting against young children, against Orthodox churches (…). You do not know the Odessites well. You will not break us, you will simply fuel our anger.” Unusually, he concluded his video in Russian, in order to express his thoughts.
The Russian army claims to target only military sites. On Sunday, she claimed to have bombed places where “terrorist acts against Russia using naval drones were being prepared”. According to the spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, the destruction inflicted on the Cathedral of the Transfiguration “are also on the conscience” of kyiv which, according to it, places its air defense systems in residential areas.
A walkabout for Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko
The day was also marked by the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, a faithful ally of the Kremlin, almost a month after the aborted rebellion of Wagner in Russia. A sign of the importance of this first face-to-face exchange since this spectacular episode which shook Russian power, Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that the two leaders “were going to dedicate a day and a half, two days” to these bilateral talks.
The Belarusian leader, presented as the mediator between the Kremlin and Yevgeny Prigojine at the time of Wagner’s abortive rebellion at the end of June, then appeared alongside Vladimir Putin during a rare crowd bath for the two leaders, in Kronstadt, near Saint Petersburg. The two men posed with visibly enthusiastic onlookers.
Russian president says Ukrainian counteroffensive ‘failed’
According to Russian news agencies, while Alexander Lukashenko claimed that“there is no[vait] no counter-offensive”the Belarusian president was taken over by his Russian counterpart. “There is one but it failed”said Vladimir Putin.
Furthermore, Alexander Lukashenko accused Warsaw of wanting “transfer territories” from western Ukraine to Poland. Of the “futile attempts” For “Digging a wedge between kyiv and Warsaw”denounced by the head of Ukrainian diplomacy. “Unlike Russia, Poland and Ukraine have learned [les enseignements] of history and will always remain united against Russian imperialism and the disrespect of international law”assured the Ukrainian minister on Twitter.