At least 8 civilians killed after Russian missile targets Odesa

Source: Oleg Kiper, Head of Odesa Regional Administration; Gennadiy Trukhanov, Mayor of Odesa

A Russian missile strike on Odesa claimed the lives of at least eight civilians on Monday. According to the Odesa Regional Administration, at least 18 others sustained injuries, including a child. Four victims remain in critical condition.

At 11:58 am, Ukrainian Air Force sent out an alert over  the launch of a ballistic missile, which moments later struck a residential and business district of the city. Civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, suffered significant damage, with some jarring videos emerging on social media show lifeless bodies of civilians lying in the street.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the missile hit a parking area, resulting in damage to an apartment complex, a university, and an administrative building.

Odesa mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov confirmed that the missile targeted a densely populated part of the city. “The victims were peaceful residents,” he emphasized.

Rescue operations are ongoing, as emergency service teams are trying to assess the full extent of casualties and destruction.

Amendments to Ukraine’s enforcement proceedings legislation, initiated by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, have entered into force. Among other measures, the reform provides for the automated lifting of attachments on bank accounts immediately after debts in enforcement proceedings have been fully settled. The main practical benefit for citizens is the complete elimination of the need to contact an enforcement officer in person and wait for paper decisions once the debt has been paid.

The 157th Separate Mechanized Brigade has received another batch of supplies as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front military initiative. This time, the military received seven quad bikes and four mobile shower and bath units.

In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.

Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.

Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.