Russian missile attack kills three in Ukraine’s Odesa

At least three people were killed and 13 wounded in a Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa early Wednesday, authorities said.

Russia fired four Kalibr missiles from a ship in the Black Sea, Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the region's military administration, said on Telegram.

A strike on a retail chain's warehouse killed three employees and wounded seven others, he said.

"There may be people under the rubble," he added.

Six other people were wounded after a business centre, shops and a residential complex in the city centre were damaged "as a result of air combat and the blast wave", he said.

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Russian missile attack kills three in Ukraine's Odesa

Air defences shot down two of the missiles, according to the military administration.

Odesa was a favourite holiday destination for many Ukrainians and Russians before President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February last year.

Odesa has been bombed several times since the start of the invasion, and in January the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO designated the historic centre of the city as a World Heritage in Danger site.

A police officer inspects the site of a warehouse heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike in Odesa, Ukraine. Reuters

Moscow has intensified its nightly attacks on major Ukrainian cities in recent weeks while Kyiv has launched a long-awaited counter-offensive to reclaim territory occupied by Russian forces.

The latest strikes came a day after a missile attack on Kryvyi Rig, the hometown of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, killed 11 people.

Authorities in the southeast Dnipropetrovsk region which includes Kryvyi Rig also reported a fresh Russian drone attack overnight.

"All three 'Shaheds' were shot down in the sky over the region," regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram, referring to the Iranian attack drones Russia uses.

While Ukraine says it is making gains after launching its counter-offensive, Putin on Tuesday claimed his forces were inflicting "catastrophic" losses on their opponents.

Agence France-Presse