Ukraine War: Kyiv Says Russian Strikes ‘Destroyed’ UNESCO-Listed Odesa Cathedral – News18

Ukraine on Sunday said Russian strikes “destroyed” an Orthodox cathedral under UNESCO protection in Odesa’s historic city center, describing it as a “war crime”. “The Transfiguration Cathedral, located in the historic center of Odesa, protected by UNESCO, was destroyed. A war crime that will never be forgotten and forgiven,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Twitter.

The attacks come days after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a wartime deal that enabled Ukraine’s exports to reach many countries facing the threat of hunger.

It also follows President Vladimir Putin’s promise to retaliate against Kyiv for an attack Monday on the crucial Kerch Bridge linking Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, which the Kremlin illegally annexed in 2014.

On Sunday, Russia struck the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa, keeping up a barrage of attacks that have damaged critical port infrastructure in southern Ukraine in the past week. At least one person was killed and 22 others wounded in the attack in the early hours.

Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said that four children were among those wounded in the blasts, which severely damaged the historic Transfiguration Cathedral, a landmark Orthodox cathedral in the city.

Russia has been launching persistent attacks on Odesa, a key hub for exporting grain, since Moscow canceled a landmark grain deal on Monday amid Kyiv’s grinding efforts to retake its occupied territories.

Kiper noted that six residential buildings, including apartment buildings, were destroyed by the strikes. Some people became trapped in their apartments as a result of the damage caused by the attack, which left rubble strewn in the street and partly blocking the road, and damage to power lines.

The Transfiguration Cathedral, one of the most important and largest Orthodox Cathedrals in Odesa, was severely damaged.

Odesa’s historic center was designated an endangered World Heritage Site by the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, earlier this year, despite Russian opposition.

(With AP inputs)