At least 19 people, including two children, have been confirmed dead after Russian missile strikes on an apartment building and resort in Odesa in southern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. A further 38 people, including six children and a pregnant woman, were hospitalised with injuries, Ukraine’s security service said. Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, Yevhenii Yenin, said there were no military targets or infrastructure in the vicinity of the areas struck by missiles. Speaking at the scene, Yenin said rescue operations were ongoing but “we don’t expect to find anyone alive”.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied that Russia was hitting civilian targets. “I would like to remind you of the president’s words that the Russian armed forces do not work with civilian targets,” Peskov told reporters.
