Several explosions are reported early Sunday morning in the port city of Odesa in Ukraine. The authorities are asking residents to stay in shelters.
–
The Washington Post correspondent reports several powerful explosions in the city center. Pictures from the site show thick, black smoke rising among the buildings.
“The windows in my hotel room just shook,” the Washington Post correspondent wrote Isabelle Khurshudyan on Twitter.
A spokesman for Odesa’s regional military authority is asking residents to stay in shelters, reports the BBC.
Fuel depot must be taken
The news agency Reuters also reports explosions. According to a journalist from the news agency AFP, there was an attack at 6 o’clock local time against an industrial area in the city.
– One of the critical infrastructure objects was attacked this morning, a spokesman for the city authorities, Serhij Bratsjuk, states.
He does not say which target was attacked, but according to CNN there must have been talk of a fuel depot that is now on fire.
The Russian TV channel Zvezda also writes that Russian military forces hit a Ukrainian oil refinery and three fuel storage facilities with high-precision missiles near Odessa on Sunday morning.
Anton Herashchenko, adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, confirmed on his Telegram channel that Odesa was attacked from the air by missiles, according to the BBC.
Odesa is located on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine, and is an important strategic port city. Before the war, the city had 993,120 inhabitants.
Zelensky claims Russia will conquer southern Ukraine
Simultaneously warns President Volodymyr Zelenskyj that Russia is now focusing on both the Donbas in eastern and southern Ukraine.
The claim is similar to information that the British Ministry of Defense has also included in its intelligence update.
On the night before Sunday, they write that during the last week there has been a concentration of Russian air activity towards southeastern Ukraine. They believe it is probably a result of Russia focusing its military operations in this area.
1 of 6Photo: BULENT KILIC / AFP
They also write that mines in the Black Sea pose a serious risk to maritime activity. It is uncertain where these come from, but the ministry writes that it is almost certainly due to Russian naval activity in the area.
US intelligence also believes Russia has changed strategy, and has a goal of taking control of this part of Ukraine in early May, according to sources who CNN have talked to.
“Putin is under pressure to show that he can win, and it is most likely that he will succeed in eastern Ukraine,” a source told the channel.
They wonder if they want to achieve victory by May 9, which is a holiday in Russia to mark the Nazi surrender during World War II.
Ukraine: has recaptured the Kyiv region
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that their forces have recaptured the entire Kyiv region.
Although Russian forces now appear to be outside the metropolitan area, they appear to be intensifying their attacks on targets in eastern Ukraine.
– Despite Russia’s efforts to reduce Ukrainian air defense capability, Ukraine continues to be a significant challenge for Russian air and missile operations. As a result, Russian aircraft are still vulnerable to short- and medium-range air defense systems, writes the British Ministry of Defense.
It can prevent Russia from gaining a foothold in these areas, the update says.
–
