The sixth attack this week on the southern Odesa region, Russia launched 20 “Shahed” drones built in Iran overnight. According to regional and military officials, Ukraine’s air force shot down 16 of the drones.
Ukrainian air force shoots down drones: Since mid-July, when Moscow pulled out of the UN-mediated agreement that permitted secure Ukrainian grain exports across the Black Sea, Russia has increased air attacks on the infrastructure supporting those exports along the Danube River and in the port of Odesa.
Oleh Kiper, the regional governor of Odesa, posted on the Telegram messaging app, “The Russian terrorists attacked the Odesa region during the night for the fifth time this week.” The military command for the South reported that in addition to the 14 drones shot down above Odessa, they also shot down two more drones over the Mykolaiv region.
It claimed that the drones were launched from both Russia and Crimea, which Russia invaded and occupied in 2014.
Kiper stated that drone debris had damaged a non-residential building, but he did not provide any other information.
In the vicinity of Odesa, he reported no casualties. Regional authorities reported that Russia also fired missiles at the northeastern region of Sumy and the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, injuring numerous persons.
According to Ukraine’s emergency services, two people sustained injuries in the Sumy region. They also shared a video of rescuers extracting a wounded woman from a hole caused by the explosion.
A two-story residential building sustained damage, leading to the rescue of the 65-year-old woman and the 70-year-old man, as stated by the organization. Regarding the most recent strikes, Russia made no quick comments.