Photo copyright: Reuters
Photo caption: The impact damaged a building that locals call “Harry Potter’s Castle” or “Kivalov’s Castle” April 29, 2024
Updated April 30, 2024
On Monday, the Russian army launched a missile attack on Odessa. Five people were killed and another died from a stroke caused by the attack, local authorities said. 32 local residents were injured, including the famous Ukrainian politician Sergei Kivalov. He now heads the Odessa Law Academy, and in the past he co-authored the law on the protection of the Russian language and led the Ukrainian Central Election Commission during the Orange Revolution.
The head of the Odessa regional military administration, Sergei Kiper, said that the strike was carried out by a ballistic missile “on one of the most popular locations among Odessa residents and guests of the city, where people walked with children, dogs, and played sports.”
As of Tuesday morning, 17 victims remain in hospitals. Eight people are in serious condition, four of them are in extremely serious condition, including a four-year-old girl.
Photos of bloody bodies near the sea, on the path that leads to the beach, are being circulated on Ukrainian social networks. A dog was also killed as a result of the shooting. Network users publish a video in which the owner is sobbing over the body of a dead animal.
“Odessa… People are walking near the sea, and they are shooting and killing. This is how they say… that they allegedly defend themselves by killing children and people,” wrote Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov.
The Russian military did not comment on the strike on Odessa; there was no mention of it in the evening report of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Photo copyright: Reuters
Photo caption, Mayor of Odessa at the site where the Russian missile fell
According to preliminary data, a rocket with a cluster munition was used. “Such ammunition is used to destroy manpower and pose a threat primarily to people, and not to equipment and buildings,” Kiper said in a statement.
A representative of the Defense Forces of southern Ukraine, Dmitry Pletenchuk, also stated that an Iskander-M missile with a cluster warhead was used during the shelling.
Before the strike, an air raid warning was announced in southern Ukraine, and the military warned of the threat of the use of ballistic missiles.
“Kivalova Castle” was damaged
As a result of the strike, one of the most famous buildings in Odessa was damaged – a mansion that locals call “Harry Potter’s castle” or “Kivalov’s castle.” This is one of the buildings of the Odessa Law Academy; in addition, according to Ukrainian media, Kivalov himself, the rector of this educational institution, periodically lived in it.
According to the Ukrainian military, a fire broke out in the building on an area of 600 square meters.
image copyrightEPA
The vice-rector of the Odessa Law Academy, Valentin Fedorov, confirmed to the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne that Kivalov himself was among the wounded. A video is being circulated on social networks in which Kivalov is taken away by an ambulance.
In the past, Kivalov was one of the most famous Ukrainian politicians. During the Orange Revolution of 2004, he headed the Central Election Commission, and first of all, accusations were made against him of rigging the presidential elections in favor of the pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych.
After the Supreme Court of Ukraine revealed massive violations during the counting of votes and decided to hold a second round of elections again, Kivalov was dismissed from his post as head of the Central Election Commission. As a result of the vote that took place in early 2005, Viktor Yushchenko was elected president of Ukraine.
image copyrightAFP
Photo caption: In 2009, Dmitry Medvedev awarded Kivalov the Order of Friendship
In 2012, Kivalov became one of the co-authors of the scandalous law “On the Fundamentals of Language Policy,” which, among other things, protected the status of the Russian language in Ukraine.
Opponents of the law insisted that it was the Ukrainian language that needed protection at that moment, since Russian already occupied a significant place in the public space. After the European revolution, the law was repealed as contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine.
In 2009, Kivalov received the Order of Friendship from the then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and in 2013, Vladimir Putin awarded him the Pushkin Medal. In signed by Putin decree it was said that he was awarded this medal for “his great contribution to the preservation and popularization of the Russian language abroad.”
