On the night of March 2, Russian terrorists attacked an apartment block in Odesa, destroying 18 apartments, according to Ukraine news. The death toll has risen to 12, and the bodies of five children were removed under the rubble.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoke about another Russian attack on peaceful Ukrainian cities:
“Russia continues to fight civilians. Night attack of Shaheds: Kharkiv, Odesa, cities of Sumy Oblast. One of the enemy drones hit a residential building in Odesa. 18 apartments were destroyed. We need more air defence from partners! It is necessary to strengthen the Ukrainian air shield to protect our people from Russian terror. More air defence systems, more missiles for air defence – this is what saves lives!”
The president also talked about a rescue operation that lasted all day in Odesa at the site of a Shahed strike by the Russians. He noted that “such attacks by Shahed drones have no military sense” and cannot have any. This is terrorism aimed solely at destroying lives and intimidating people.
“The world knows what to do against terrorism. The world has enough missile defence systems, systems to protect against Shahed drones and missiles. And delaying the supply of weapons to the Ukraine war today, missile defence systems to protect our people leads, unfortunately, to such losses and to the fact that the list of children whose lives Russia takes away constantly grows.
Ukraine asked for nothing more than necessary to protect lives. It’s impossible to understand when lives are lost, and partners simply play internal political games or disputes that limit our defence. It’s unacceptable. And it will be impossible to forget – the world will remember this. Russian terror must be defeated. It’s fundamental,” – added Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also directly addressed the world about Russian losses at the front – it’s Ukrainian response to Russian terror. The world must react to every manifestation of Russian evil and retaliate against Russia’s actions. Every Russian terrorist act, ignored by the world, allows for more killing. As the head of the country noted: “We must win this war. Only Ukrainian strength will be able to ensure a normal life for Ukrainians.”
On March 7, 2024, a Russian missile exploded close to a convoy carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during an attack on the seaport of Odesa.
They saw a “mushroom cloud” of smoke. Five Ukrainians were killed, and more were wounded, neither Zelenskyy nor Mitsotakis were injured. Mitsotakis said Zelenskyy had given him a tour of the southern city, which has sustained huge damage.
“Today in Odesa, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and I paid tribute to those killed on March 2 as a result of the Russian Shahed strike on a nine-story residential building. This attack killed 12 people, including five children. Mark was 3 years old. Tymofiy was just four months old. Yelyzaveta was not even a year old when she died alongside her mother… Serhiy and Zlata were nine and eight years old. My condolences to the nearest and dearest of the victims” – the President of Ukraine noted.
The reaction of Western and Ukrainian politicians to news from the Ukraine
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen also condemns the Russian attack:
“I strongly condemn the vile attack on Odesa by Russia during President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Mitsotakis’s visit. No one is intimidated by this new attempt at terror – certainly not the two leaders on the ground or the brave people of Ukraine. More than ever, we stand by Ukraine.”
President of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko spoke about the tragedy in Odesa and addressed the American journalist Tucker Carlson:
“This is the story of a family of Evangelical Christian Baptists who lived in a house that has been hit by a Russian drone today. A 5-year-old child was found dead while rescuers continued to search for the mother and a 3-month-old baby under the rubble. Tucker Carlson, what do you say to this? How do you feel about Putin’s “protection” of all Christians in the world?”
“I strongly condemn the drone attack on Odesa last night, which caused injuries and destruction. Russia will be held accountable for all the crimes it committed in Ukraine,” – said Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Lt. Col in Air National Guard, CNN Senior Political Commentator and former Congressman Adam Kinzinger remarked:
“Russia just got within 150 meters of article 5, with news of the strike in Odesa almost hitting the Greek Prime Minister.”
“Hey, Speaker Mike Johnson, it’s time to pass the new aid bill to help Ukraine avoid getting dragged into a NATO-Russia conflict. American-supplied air defences for Odesa could have avoided this close call,” Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia (2012-2014) Michael McFaul appealed to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives regarding the aid bill for Ukraine.
“Moldova vehemently condemns Russia’s brazen missile attack on Odesa. The targeting of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyriakos Mitsotakis meeting location is unsettling. Russia’s war in Ukraine poses a direct threat to our shared security in Europe. Urgent support for Ukraine is imperative,” – said Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova.
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell noticed:
“The reckless air attack on Odesa when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyriakos Mitsotakis were visiting to pay tribute to the victims of the March 2 drone strike on a residential building proves again Putin’s disregard for any norms and his willingness to escalate. Russia must stop terrorising Ukraine’s civilian population and the illegal aggression.”
Head of the Subcommittee on Approximation of Ukrainian Legislation to EU Legislation, Head of the Permanent Delegation to PACE Maria Mezentseva remarked:
“The Prime Minister of Greece clearly saw with his own eyes what the “Russian liberation” is! This war crime, which was committed in close proximity to the highest officials of the two states, is a brazen manifestation of the ongoing aggression of the Russian Federation, which shows that the dictatorship is at war with the whole world! We are pleased to see the courage of the Greek leadership, as well as the application to participate in the Leaders’ Forum on President Zelensky’s Peace Formula in Switzerland. We are pleased that military assistance will continue and be strengthened both at the EU level and in bilateral relations. Ukraine and Greece have a lot of cultural and historical commonality, which the enemy is constantly encroaching on, trying to destroy and erase. This is a direct genocide. Within the Council of Europe and PACE itself, we have the highest level of cooperation, as the new President of PACE is a Greek representative. Mr. Rousopoulos puts Ukraine’s issue on the highest agenda of the assembly.”
“Certain world leaders are asking Ukraine to stop hostilities and agree to peace and the current situation at the front. At the same time, they are trying not only not to support Ukraine but also to delay the supply of weapons and ammunition. The main goal of these leaders now is to prevent Russian shelling of peaceful Ukrainian cities if they want at least some beginning of negotiations. This applies to China, which wants to act as a mediator in peace negotiations, and, for example, Germany, because Scholz wants to become the chancellor of peace. The world reacts cynically to the children who died in Odesa, but terror among civilians must be stopped. There can be no half-tones when children die.” – said the CEO of The Ukrainian Review, Volodymyr Savchenko.
News media and their reaction to the Russian attack
Al Jazeera, Qatar state-owned media, reported several people have been killed in a Russian strike on Ukraine’s port city of Odesa. The attack came on Wednesday as Zelenskyy was giving Greece’s prime minister a tour of the war-ravaged city Mitsotakis said the delegations were getting into their cars when they heard the blast, which he said is a “vivid reminder” that the city is embroiled in war with Russia. It is one thing to hear about the war and “quite another – to experience war firsthand”. Over the course of the conflict, foreign leaders have made numerous trips to Ukraine, occasionally having to take refuge in shelters when air raid sirens sound.
According to CNN, Zelenskyy frequently makes high-risk trips to the front lines and has welcomed dozens of world leaders to Ukraine during more than two years of war Russia Ukraine, but Wednesday’s attack may represent one of the closest calls for the president. The strike’s proximity to Mitsotakis – the leader of a NATO member state – also underlines the dangers of such visits and the potential global repercussions of the conflict.
South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group, in its article writes about the death toll from the Russia strike in Ukraine’s Odesa rising to 12 as China envoy tours Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “The world must respond to every manifestation of Russian evil and repel Russia’s actions”. In Moscow, China’s special envoy on Ukraine said negotiations were the only way to end fighting in Ukraine after holding talks with Russian diplomats.
Reuters reported a top Ukrainian official said he could not exclude the possibility that a Russian missile had deliberately targeted the delegations of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the visiting prime minister of Greece when they visited Odesa port. Ukraine’s Black Sea port infrastructure has been a constant target for Russian attacks, which have been stepped up since last July when Moscow quit a U.N.-brokered deal that allowed safe passage of Ukrainian grain and Kyiv established its export corridor.
Conclusion
Many Ukrainian and foreign politicians strongly condemned this shelling, including those who accused the Republicans of delaying the process of transferring aid to Ukraine and that the blood of Ukrainians was also on their hands, especially Speaker Johnson. Despite the fact that Western politicians sympathise with Ukraine and strongly condemn the Russian shelling of peaceful Ukrainian cities, these words are still not transformed into large aid packages for Ukraine, such as air defence and painful sanctions for Russia.
