Russia's attack on Odesa kills one, damages city's largest cathedral

A Russian aerial onslaught connected Ukraine's Odesa metropolis aboriginal connected Sunday killed one, injured astir 20 and severely damaged a Russian-linked Orthodox cathedral, with officials saying they retrieved the icon of the patroness of the larboard metropolis from nether the rubble.

"Odesa: different nighttime onslaught of the monsters," Oleh Kiper, politician of confederate Ukraine's Odesa region, said connected the Telegram messaging app.

One idiosyncratic was killed and 19 injured, including 4 children, successful the rocket attacks that besides destroyed six houses and flat buildings. Fourteen radical were hospitalised, helium said.

Russia has been pounding Odesa and different Ukrainian nutrient export facilities astir regular implicit the past week aft it withdrew from a U.N.-brokered oversea corridor statement that allowed for the harmless shipment of Ukrainian grain.

Odesa's subject medication said that the Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral of the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), was severely damaged.

"The Kasperovska icon of the Mother of God, who is the patroness of Odesa, was retrieved from nether the rubble," the medication said connected its Telegram channel.

The Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral, oregon the Transfiguration Cathedral, is Odesa's largest Orthodox religion building. It was consecrated successful 1809.

Photos and videos published by Odesa officials and the constabulary showed parts of the gathering destroyed and rubble wrong with respective icons lined up connected the ground.

The UOC is Ukraine's second-largest church, though astir Ukrainian Orthodox believers beryllium to a abstracted subdivision of the religion formed 4 years agone by uniting branches autarkic of Russian authority.

Ukraine has accused the UOC of maintaining links to the pro-invasion Russian Orthodox Church, which utilized to beryllium its genitor religion but with which the UOC says it broke ties successful May past year.

Reuters could not instantly independently verify the video oregon the reports of the damage. There was nary contiguous remark from Russia.

Ukraine's aerial unit said connected its Telegram messaging app aboriginal connected Sunday that Russia launched high-precision Onyx missiles and sea-to-shore Kalibr cruise missiles connected Odesa.

The city's subject medication said that aerial defence systems destroyed a "significant part" of the missiles, which they said included Iskander ballistic missiles.

Russia had described the attacks arsenic revenge for a Ukrainian onslaught connected a Russian-built span to Crimea - the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula that Russia seized successful 2014. It has accused Ukraine of utilizing the oversea corridor to motorboat "terrorist attacks".

Social media videos showed a distressed antheral walking wrong the acheronian cathedral repeating, "The religion is nary longer .... Lord, person mercy."