Vladimir Putin has rained down hell on Ukraine’s port city of Odessa with a powerful missile strike – just as the city’s large Jewish population marks the holy day of Yom Kippur.
Russian invaders are believed to have struck the Hotel Odessa – a military target used as a training centre – with local reports that the building is caught up in flames.
Other reports describe a ‘continuous attack’ on the Black Sea port lasting for over an hour, as Russia fired an arsenal of shahed missiles.
Oleg Veretskiy posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, listing the invaders’ weaponry as ‘Onyx, Calibers and Shaheds’.
He added: ‘I don’t remember such a dense attack on Odessa for a long time. It was loud. Right next to us. We survived. The air raid alert has been cancelled.’
Many of Odessa’s population of over 12,000 Jews were marking the end of their fasting period on the holy day of Yom Kippur when the missiles struck.
Since its founding in 1795, Odessa has been home to a large population of Jews – outnumbering any other ethnic group until the mid-20th century.
Explosions have also been reported in Sevastopol in the Crimea, temporarily occupied by Russia.
The attacks come as President Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine grinded into its 20th month with no tangible sign of victory.
