Explosions in Odessa after another Russian night attack

Odessa and the Ukrainian region of the same name have been attacked with drones, explosions echo in the city, local channels of the "Telegram" application reported.

About 20 drones are moving from the Black Sea waters in the direction of Odessa, Chernomorsk, Ovidiopol, Zatoka, local channels also reported.

The air alert was announced at 01:22 (local time - coincides with Bulgarian time).

Regional authorities are urging residents to take shelter in bomb shelters.

US President Donald Trump's special envoy John Cole said that great progress has been made in the reconciliation of Russia's ally Belarus with its neighbor Lithuania, which is a member of NATO and the European Union, Reuters reported.

Relations between the two countries soured in 2020 when Lithuania sided with protesters in Minsk after President Alexander Lukashenko declared himself the winner of Belarus' disputed presidential election.

Lithuania has since accused Minsk of orchestrating the flow of migrants across its borders, encouraging cigarette smugglers using high-altitude balloons that have led to dozens of closures at Vilnius airport, and more recently confiscating hundreds of Lithuanian trucks.

Cole said he met with Lithuanian leaders earlier this week "to try to resolve some of their issues" with Belarus, and then presented Lithuania's concerns to Lukashenko during their current talks. "I think we're making a lot of progress with this," he told Reuters after the meeting, which resulted in Lukashenko releasing 250 political prisoners and the United States lifting some sanctions on Minsk.

"Lukashenko has understood that these kinds of provocations are not helpful," Cole said. On the issues of cigarette smuggling and truck seizures, "I think Lukashenko believes that these are not very important issues and it's worth dropping them," Cole said.