Ukraine's Odesa continues to be bombarded, at least 2 killed in latest attacks

Russia pounded Ukraine's southern cities, including the port city of Odesa, with drones and missiles for a third consecutive night in a wave of strikes that has destroyed some of the country's critical grain export infrastructure.

At least two people, in Odesa, were killed in the attacks, which come days after President Vladimir Putin pulled Russia out of a wartime deal that allowed Ukraine to send grain to countries facing the threat of hunger.

The attacks intensified after Moscow vowed "retribution" earlier this week for an attack that damaged a crucial bridge between Russia and the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula. Russian officials blamed that strike on Ukraine.

Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said Ukrainian air defences destroyed all of the 12 Iranian-made Shahed drones and two Kalibr missiles that targeted Odesa.

But he added that air defence systems were unable to shoot down some incoming missiles, in particular the X-22 and Onyx types. He didn't say how many missiles got through.

The two people who died in Odesa were a 21-year-old security guard and another person who was found dead under rubble during a search and rescue operation, according to Kiper.

Officials plot way to keep grain moving

In Mykolaiv, another southern city close to the Black Sea, at least 19 people were injured overnight, the region's governor, Vitalii Kim, said in a statement on Telegram.

Russian strikes partially destroyed a three-storey building and caused a fire that affected an area of 450 square metres and burned for hours. Two people were hospitalized, including a child, according to the regional governor.

The previous night, an intense Russian bombardment using drones and missiles damaged critical port infrastructure in Odesa, including grain and oil terminals. The attack destroyed at least 60,000 tons of grain.

The European Union's foreign affairs chief condemned Russia's targeting of grain storage facilities.

"More than 60,000 tons of grain has been burned," Josep Borrell said in Brussels on Thursday, commenting on Moscow's recent tactics. "So not only they withdraw from the grain agreement, but they are burning the grain."

German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbocksaid at the same meeting that the EU is involved in international efforts to get Ukrainian grain on to the world market.

"The fact that the Russian president has cancelled the grain agreement and is now bombing the port of Odessa is not only another attack on Ukraine, but an attack on the people, on the poorest people in the world," she said. "Hundreds of thousands of people, not to say millions, urgently need grain from Ukraine."

Young girl reported killed in Crimea

The White House warned Wednesday that Russia is preparing possible attacks on civilian shipping vessels in the Black Sea. The warning could alarm shippers and further drive up grain prices.

Russia has laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports, White House National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge said in a statement.

"We believe that this is a co-ordinated effort to justify any attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea and lay blame on Ukraine for these attacks," the statement said.

In the Russian-annexed territory of Crimea, meanwhile, "an enemy drone" an apparent reference to Ukraine attacked a settlement in the peninsula's northwest, the region's Moscow-appointed governor, Sergei Aksyonov, reported Thursday. He said that the attack damaged several administrative buildings and killed a teenage girl.

WATCH l 'This is what legends are made of': Ukrainians grateful for Canadian-performed surgeries:

His jaw was blown off. Canadian surgeons helped rebuild it

1 year ago

Duration 9:51

Canadian doctors have been travelling to Poland to treat the most complicated injuries of the war in Ukraine, including facial reconstructions and amputations. CBC News went there to meet the surgeons volunteering their time and the people whose lives theyve changed.

Meanwhile, the Belarusian Defence Ministry on Thursday said the country's military continues to train with fighters from the Wagner private military contractor, on a training ground near the border with Poland.

The exercises will continue for a week, the ministry said on Telegram, and promised to share more details later.

A video released Wednesday appeared to show Wagner's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for the first time since he led last month's rebellion into Russia. In the video, Prigozhin was seen telling his troops they would spend some time in Belarus training its military to help "make the Belarusian army the second strongest army in the world" before deploying to Africa.

In addition to their involvement in Ukraine, Wagner mercenaries have been sent to Syria and several African countries since the private army was created in 2014.