ODESA, Ukraine (Reuters) -A Russian missile missed Ukraine’s president and the prime minister of Greece by hundreds of metres on Wednesday when it slammed into port infrastructure in the Black Sea city of Odesa.
“It seems to me that we have not only heard, we have seen this strike today,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told a news conference alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The attack occurred at an estimated 500 to 800 metre distance from the delegations, sources said.
“You see who we’re dealing with, they don’t care where to hit.”
Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s navy, told the national news agency Ukrinform that the intended target was Odesa’s port infrastructure. Five people were killed, he said.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Defence Forces, said she believed the presence of the two leaders was coincidental.
“What is happening is that Russia is a terrorist and it is clearly continuing to attack port infrastructure,” Humeniuk told U.S.-funded Radio Liberty.
“Yes, there was a missile strike on Odesa…However, this is in no way connected to a specific visit.”
The Ukrainian air force announced a ballistic missile threat in the region this morning but there were no official reports up until the news conference after the leaders inspected the port and Ukraine’s humanitarian corridor for maritime exports.
Mitsotakis, on his first visit to the country since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, said that during the tour the delegation heard sirens and a big explosion as they headed towards their cars.
“I believe that this is for us the most vivid reminder that there is a real war waging here,” Mitsotakis said, urging European leaders to visit Ukraine to see the impact on civilians.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its troops attacked a hangar housing Ukrainian naval drones in the port, adding that “the goal has been achieved”.
PORT INFRASTRUCTURE A CONSTANT TARGET
Ukraine’s Black Sea port infrastructure has been a constant target for Russian attacks, which have stepped up since mid-July when Moscow quit a U.N.-brokered deal that allowed safe passage of Ukrainian grain and Kyiv established its own export corridor.
Russia has launched over 880 attack drones and over 170 missiles on Odesa region port infrastructure since, a Ukrainian navy commander said during the tour.
“No one is intimidated by this new attempt at terror – certainly not the two leaders on the ground nor the brave people of Ukraine,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X, commenting on the attack.
Greece, a NATO member and a traditional ally of Ukraine’s bid to join the NATO military alliance and the European Union, has offered military help to the country.
On Wednesday’s visit, Mitsotakis confirmed continued support.
“My presence here reflects the respect of the entire free world for your people and underlines Greece’s commitment to remain by your side,” he told Zelenskiy.
He again stressed the importance of air defence and said the countries were working on a bilateral security agreement, similar to accords Kyiv has signed with other countries.
“We discussed what other means we can use to expand the security space in the Black Sea. How we can add protection to our people – both military and civilians. We need more air defence,” Zelenskiy said.
Mitsotakis added that Greece would participate in a high-level Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland.
The leaders also visited an apartment block where 12 people, including five children, were killed in a weekend drone attack.
(Reporting by Iryna Nazarchuk and Renee Maltezou; Writing by Angeliki Koutantou, Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Toby Chopra, Alex Richardson, Josie Kao and Ron Popeski)
