Russia Missile and Drone Attacks Kill 14 in Ukraine; Ukraine Claims Drone Strikes on 20 Russian Ships

Kyiv. Ukrainian officials said at least 14 people were killed in missile and drone attacks carried out by Russia in various regions of Ukraine on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Ukraine claimed to have struck 20 Russian ships in the Black Sea with its drone attacks.

Seventeen of these were oil tankers. In the southern port city of Odesa, three people were killed in large-scale missile and drone attacks by Russia for the fifth consecutive day, informed Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa region. According to him, civilians lost their lives when a missile hit a residential building. A non-residential building and a gas pipeline were also damaged by the attack.

Three people were killed in the northeastern city of Sumy, and three more in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Local administration reported that five more people lost their lives in three other southeastern regions. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine claimed to have targeted 20 Russian vessels through drone attacks conducted in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian side claims that 17 of them were oil-carrying tankers. Russia has not yet responded to this.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the attack in Odesa was targeted at port infrastructure. According to the ministry, places for unloading petroleum, oil, and fuel products were targeted.

According to a report released by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine on Tuesday, 293 civilians were killed and 1,990 injured in Ukraine in June alone. The report mentioned that long-range missile and drone attacks accounted for the largest share of civilian casualties. It was stated that about 45 percent of the total deaths were due to such weapons.

In recent days, Russia has intensified attacks on the deep-water ports of the Odesa region. These ports are considered very important for Ukraine's export of grain and other goods and have become a major pillar of the wartime economy. 

Earlier, Ukraine had launched continuous drone attacks targeting Russian ships in the Sea of Azov region. According to the news agency Reuters, after those attacks, Russia has tightened ship movement through the Sea of Azov. It is said that about a quarter of Russia's grain exports pass through this route.