Strike on the city center

On Friday, September 18, Russian occupiers struck a crowded location in the center of Odesa with a jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle. According to RBC-Ukraine, this was announced by Oleg Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration: "The enemy attacked the center of Odesa. A jet-powered UAV damaged an administrative building." He said that as a result of the impact, the facade and glazing of the administrative building were destroyed, and the resulting fire spread across several floors. Work to eliminate the consequences of the attack continued at the scene.

Update on the number of casualties

The number of injured was being updated as information came in from the scene. Initially, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration Serhiy Lysak reported three injured, noting that one of them was in critical condition and all had been hospitalized. Later, Oleg Kiper stated that the number of casualties had risen to five, most of them with shrapnel wounds. After that, Serhiy Lysak updated the figures, reporting seven injured. According to him, all the wounded are receiving the necessary medical care.

Contradictory data

In the statements of officials throughout the day, discrepancies in the figures were noted: first three injured were reported, then five, and ultimately seven. These discrepancies are due to the fact that the data were updated as emergency services worked and people were hospitalized, rather than to conflicting accounts of the attack itself. It should also be noted separately that the nighttime strike on a multi-story residential building in Odesa, which injured three people, including a three-year-old child, is a separate incident, chronologically distinct from the daytime jet-powered drone strike on the administrative building in the city center.

Chronology of attacks on Odesa in September

Odesa has continued to endure enemy strikes throughout September. On September 13, Russian occupiers struck the sorting center of the EVA cosmetics retail chain in Odesa with missiles. On the night of September 12, a multi-story residential building was severely damaged: injuries were reported, and later the body of a victim was found under the rubble. On September 10, the Russians attacked warehouses of humanitarian aid in the city, and on September 8 they struck the "7th Kilometer" market on the city's outskirts.

Response of emergency services

According to Serhiy Lysak, all relevant services are working at the scene of the daytime strike, and an operational headquarters has been set up to assist people. Work is underway to eliminate the consequences of the fire and the destruction of the administrative building, and the injured are receiving medical care in hospitals.