Ukraine says over 20 killed in Russian missile attacks in Odesa, Sumy

ISTANBUL

Ukraine said on Monday that over 20 people were killed in Russian missile attacks in the cities of Odesa and Sumy.

A statement by the Sumy Regional Military Administration said on Telegram that 11 people were killed and 84 others injured, including 11 children, in the attack on the region's administrative capital, about 31 kilometers (19.2 miles) from the Russian border.

The statement said 11 of those injured are in intensive care, six of which are children.

"Sunday evening for the city of Sumy became hell, a tragedy brought to our land by Russia," said Sumy Governor Volodymyr Artyukh.

Separately, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service later said the number of those injured increased to 89.

The Sumy Prosecutor General's Office said 13 buildings, including 90 apartments, as well as two educational institutions, were damaged in the attack.

Meanwhile, Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper initially said eight people were killed and 39 others injured in an attack on the city that damaged civilian infrastructure.

Kiper later reported that the number of those killed in the attack rose to 10, while Ukraine's Interior Ministry said that the number of those injured increased to 43.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that the attack on Odesa damaged an apartment building, a university building, and an administration building.

"These are not random strikes, they are indicative strikes," Zelenskyy said, arguing that Russia shows it is only interested in war, which he argued is something that should be heard across the world, including at the G20 leaders' summit in Brazil on Nov. 18-19.

Ukraine’s Air Force claimed that Russia attacked Sumy with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles launched from the Voronezh region and a Kh-59 guided air missile from the Kursk region.

It later claimed that the strike in Odesa during the day was caused by a downed Iskander missile that fell in a residential part of the city's Prymorskyi district.

The Russian Defense Ministry in a statement said its forces struck military airfield infrastructure, warehouses and energy facilities for "supporting the activities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine." It, however, did not comment on the strikes in Odesa and Sumy in particular.