Russia carried out one of the largest drone attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea city Odesa late on Thursday evening, the 20th of March, injuring three teenagers and sparking fires during a visit by Czech President Petr Pavel, Ukrainian officials said, according to Reuters.
The Czech President, who is an active supporter of Ukraine, was in the port city at the time of the strikes for talks with regional officials.
On the evening of the 20th of March, the Czech President said in a post on X that Odesa “has resisted Russian aggression since the beginning of the war”.
“The Czech Republic is sending here assistance in the form of combat equipment, drones, protective vests and mobile jamming devices to protect the population from drone attacks, as well as medical equipment such as ventilators and hospital beds,” Pavel wrote.
The Czech President met with the Governor of the region, Oleh Kiper, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba and other Ukrainian officials to discuss cooperation.
“It is noteworthy that it was during our meeting that the enemy again massively attacked the Odessa region,” said Kiper in a Telegram message. He reported that among the three known injured were minors.
Long-range drones flew into the city in several waves, damaging infrastructure, residential houses and commercial buildings, and starting several fires, the Interior Ministry said.
Military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko told Reuters that Russia used a new tactic in its attack on Odessa, firing drones from higher altitudes and at higher speeds to bypass Ukraine’s air defences.
He described it as one of the biggest attacks on the city since the Russian invasion in February 2022, calling it intimidation and terrorising of civilians.
Separately on Friday, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of attacking a large Russian gas pumping and metering station located in Russia’s Kursk region, which Moscow’s forces recaptured from Ukraine earlier this month.
Moscow accused Ukraine of terrorism in its bombing. Kyiv said that Russian forces fired artillery at the site as a “provocation” and denied any involvement.
The attacks come at a time when there are negotiations over a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, which includes a partial ceasefire to stop attacks on energy facilities and infrastructure by both sides.
Both Russia and Ukraine have agreed in separate talks with US officials that they are prepared not to attack energy infrastructure. Moscow rejected a general 30-day ceasefire.
UKRAINIAN, US AND RUSSIAN DELEGATIONS WILL MEET SEPARATELY IN SAUDI ARABIA ON MONDAY TO DISCUSS FURTHER DETAILS, OFFICIALS SAID.
Russia fired a total of 214 drones at Ukraine overnight, the air force said, without specifying how many drones targeted Odesa. The air force said it had shot down 114 drones and that another 81 went “lost”, a term used to describe drones eliminated by electronic warfare defence
Ukraine has targeted targets in Russia with drones in recent days, targeting oil infrastructure and a strategic bomber base.