Russia’s ‘Non-Stop’ Attack on Odesa Kills 8, Injures 30 on Saturday, Minister Says

A Russian strike overnight Saturday on the ports in southern Ukraine’s Odesa killed eight and injured “around 30,” according to Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba.

In recent weeks, the Odesa region has been hit hard by Russian strikes, causing extended blackouts that have entered their second week, disrupting port logistics and communications, and cutting off Ukraine’s only viable bridge over the Dnister River.

Kuleba said Odesa’s port was attacked overnight, followed by another strike on Saturday morning.

“At night, the enemy launched a ballistic strike on the port in Odesa. As of now, the number of dead has unfortunately increased to eight, about 30 people have been injured,” Kuleba wrote in his Telegram update.

“The attack does not stop. After 8 a.m., another attack was recorded on the port of Pivdennyi – there are hits in the storage tanks,” he added.

As of noon, the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration said there were seven dead and 25 injured.

Kuleba described the Russian attacks as systematic.

“The enemy is purposefully destroying the logistical infrastructure of the Odesa region and terrorizing civilians, trying to interrupt the communication of the South of Ukraine,” he added.

According to the Ministry of Energy’s Saturday morning update, Russia targeted power facilities in four regions overnight, disrupting power supplies to Odesa.

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“On the night of Dec. 19-20, the enemy attacked electricity generation, distribution and transmission facilities in the Mykolaiv, Kherson, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. As a result of the Russian attacks, consumers in the Mykolaiv, Kherson, Donetsk and Odessa regions were without electricity as of this morning,” the update says.

Over 37,000 households in the city of Odesa and the Odesa region lack power, though water and heating remain operational, according to Kuleba.

Kuleba said rescue operations are ongoing, and border crossings with neighboring Romania and Moldova are operating normally, with no major queues.