According to a Ukrainian municipal official, the Russian missiles may have destroyed up to 25 architectural landmarks in Odesa, a port city in Ukraine, according to statements from media.
Oleh Kiper, the leader of the area’s military administration, claimed that Russia “deliberately aimed their missiles at the historic city centre of Odesa,” which is protected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Kiper lamented that “cynical inhumans” were destroying everything that great architects had toiled to build.The Orthodox Transfiguration or Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral, the largest cathedral in the city and one of the damaged buildings, was dedicated in 1809. The church was destroyed during the Soviet era, but it was rebuilt after Ukraine achieved its independence.
The House of Scientists, also known as the Palace of the Counts Tolstoy, and Zhvanetskyi Boulevard are two additional cultural sites in Odesa, according to the city’s mayor, Hennadii Trukhanov, who made the announcement on Sunday. Several old mansions were also harmed. Russian officials have denied allegations that they bombed infrastructure or cultural landmarks in addition to civilian objectives.
Ukrainian Minister calls for exclusion of Russia from UNESCO
Ukraine’s minister of culture, Oleksandr Tkachenko, urged that Russia be excluded from UNESCO. Tkachenko wrote on Twitter on Sunday that Russia’s ‘disregard for sacred sites and innocent lives is evident yet again’. Tkachenko quotes, “Its rockets hit Odesa, putting the lives of peaceful residents and World Heritage Sites in peril. Isn’t it time to compile further proof, act, and exclude Russia from UNESCO as a state sponsor of terrorism?”
Joesp Borrell, the head of foreign affairs for the European Union, referred to Russia’s destruction of the cathedral as “another war crime,” while Bridget Brink, the US ambassador to Ukraine, remarked that “Russia’s unjustifiable war against Ukraine and its people has terrible costs here.”
According to Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command, a strike by Russia on Odesa resulted in at least one death and 19 injuries. “A further 19 people, including four children, were injured,” the statement read. The majority of the patients are receiving outpatient care, with the exception of three children and eleven adults who were hospitalised.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has denounced the Russian attack on Odesa.
Following a fifth night of Russian attacks on Odesa, Zelenskyy declared that there is “no justification for Russian evil.” He promised to take revenge on the Russian army.
Zelenskyy added in a statement posted to Telegram that “there can be no justification for Russian wickedness” and that “missiles against peaceful communities, on residential buildings, a church…
“As always, this evil will lose,” he continued. And the Russian terrorists responsible for Odesa will undoubtedly face reprisals. They will experience this reprisal”.
Russian drones and missiles were fired at the Ukrainian port city of Odesa earlier this week, according to media. Russia has launched an attack on Odesa after blaming Ukraine for its assault on the Crimea bridge.
