A deadly strike hits Odesa within hours of a top European official’s visit.

As the night sky over Moscow was lit by fireworks to mark Victory Day on Monday, Russian forces fired seven missiles at the Black Sea port city of Odesa.

One struck a shopping mall, Ukraine’s southern military command said, another a consumer goods warehouse. Several appear to have failed to reach any target. By Tuesday morning, the fires were mostly extinguished and rescue workers were searching through the wreckage.

At least one person was killed, according to the city government, and several more were wounded. A curfew was in effect when the missiles struck, so there were few people in the area.

The strike came only hours after one of the EU’s top officials — the European Council president, Charles Michel — made an unannounced visit to the city and was forced to take cover in a bomb shelter because of another attack.

Odesa’s mayor said the area destroyed “had nothing to do with military infrastructure.” Read more

@nytimes