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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Tim Hanlon

Russian missile attack on Ukrainian apartment block and sports centre kills at least 14

A Russian missile attack has led to the deaths of at least 14 people in an apartment block and a sports centre in the Odesa region of southern Ukraine, according to reports.

Images show emergency services searching through the rubble for survivors in Belgorod-Dniester after missiles were fired by Russian aircraft coming from the direction of the Black Sea.

Fire fighters rushed to a nine floor apartment block which was ablaze and attempts were made to rescue people from the flames.

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Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that the death toll has now risen to 14.

It stated: "On July 1 at about 1am, in a Belgorod-Dniester village, there was a partial destruction of a residential building due to a Russian missile strike.

(EyePress News/REX/Shutterstock)

"As of 6am, 14 people have been killed and 30 (including three children) are injured."

The death toll has gradually risen during night.

Earlier, Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesman for the Odesa regional administration said on his Telegram channel: "The number of dead as a result of a strike on a multi-story apartment building has now risen to 10."

It comes as Russian forces abandoned the strategic Black Sea outpost of Snake Island on Thursday in a victory for Ukraine that could loosen the grip of Russia's blockade on Ukrainian ports.

Russia said it had decided to withdraw from the outcrop off Ukraine's southwestern coast as a "gesture of goodwill" to show Moscow was not obstructing UN attempts to open a humanitarian corridor allowing grains to be shipped from Ukraine.

Ukraine said it had driven the Russian forces out after an artillery and missile assault overnight.

"KABOOM!" tweeted Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff. "No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job."

In contrast, however, a Ukrainian official in the heavily fought eastern province of Luhansk described difficulties for Ukrainian forces in the city of Lysychansk on Thursday.

Russian artillery shelled from different directions while the Russian army was approaching from different sides, regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said on Ukrainian television.

"Residents have been told to remain in underground shelters indefinitely as it is very dangerous," Gaidai said.

An official from the pro-Russian separatist administration in Luhansk province told RIA news agency the Lysychansk oil refinery was now fully controlled by Russian and pro-Russian forces, and all roads to Lysychansk were also under their control. Ukraine says the main road out is largely impassable because of fighting, but the city is not yet fully cut off.

In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on both Snake Island and the Donbas region, which comprises Donetsk and Luhansk provinces on the border with Russia.

The recovery of Snake Island was significant for the Black Sea situation but "it does not yet guarantee security. It does not yet ensure that the enemy will not come back," he said.

In Luhansk and Donetsk, the Russians "have simply brought in all their reserves to hit us," Zelensky said.

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