Two people were killed and six were wounded in today's Russian strikes in Odessa, the chairman of the Odessa regional military administration Oleg Kiper announced, BTA reports.
"Russia hit the port of Odessa. Two people died. One of them is a dock worker at the port, the other is a truck driver. Sincere condolences to the families of the deceased," Kiper said in the Telegram application.
Six more were injured, including port employees, a driver and two Syrian citizens, crew members of a civilian ship, Kiper said in his message.
According to the regional governor, this afternoon an “Iskander“ missile hit the area of one of the piers of the Odessa seaport. At that time, people were working on the pier, unloading metal from a foreign ship flying the flag of Sao Tome and Principe.
Infrastructure facilities were also damaged: gantry cranes, equipment, warehouses.
"Russia has been shelling our ports for the fourth year in a row. It is hitting the infrastructure that connects Ukraine to the world. On the people who keep critical facilities in operation every day. On civilians. This attack is another example of Russia's deliberate attempt to destroy our transport hubs, our export capabilities and the lives of civilians," Oleg Kiper said in his message.
"Free and safe navigation should be the norm, not the exception. There must be a strong international response. "The world cannot afford to ignore targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure," Kiper believes.
The Bulgarians in the Odessa region number over 150,000 people and are the third largest according to the official census in Ukraine in 2001. About 50-60 thousand Bulgarians live in the city of Odessa itself. The largest compact Bulgarian population is concentrated in the Bolgrad, Izmail and Belgorod-Dniester regions.