Russia purposefully hits Odesa's historic part – Defense Intelligence

The Russian strikes on the Transfiguration Cathedral in the center of Odesa were not accidental and not just hits but targeted strikes.

Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, stated this on the air of Radio NV.

"Russia is purposefully shelling the historic part of Odesa because its terrorist attacks on this city are different from attacks on other cities of Ukraine. These are targeted missile strikes and the destruction of architectural monuments that are part of the UNESCO heritage," he said.

He emphasized that the Defense Intelligence has evidence that Russia is carrying out such strikes deliberately.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, according to Oleksii Danilov, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, the goal of the Russian terrorist attacks on the Odesa Region is the destruction of the Ukrainian infrastructure that ensures the functioning of the "grain corridor," as well as an attempt by the aggressor state of the Russian Federation to make the world dependent on Russian grain and their logistics.

On the night of July 24, the enemy once again struck the Odesa Region and attacked the port infrastructure of the Danube. A grain hangar and cargo storage tanks were destroyed. The number of people injured as a result of the shelling increased to seven; five of them were hospitalized.

As a result of Russian shelling on July 23, at least 25 architectural monuments were damaged in Odesa because the city's historic center was included in the UNESCO list.

Also, on the night of July 20, the Russian occupiers launched a massive shelling of the Odesa Region and Odesa itself. In the city, a hit to the administration building and damage to buildings were recorded; eight injured and one dead were known.