Russian air attack kills one, damages energy installations in Ukraine’s Odesa

KYIV (Reuters) -A Russian air attack struck a residential building and energy installations on Thursday evening in and near Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa, killing one person, injuring 10 and knocking out a boiler plant used for heating, officials said.

“A multi-storey residential building was destroyed in the centre of Odesa, apartments were set on fire, high-rise apartments were damaged, along with about 30 cars,” Odesa Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

“Enemy fire also damaged the main central heating pipeline. The boiler plant has been temporarily shut down and repair work is under way.”

Odesa’s mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov said the attack temporarily left over 40,000 people without heating. Heating infrastructure for one of the city’s maternity hospitals was also damaged, he said.

Engineers finished the repairs by the morning and heating would resume for impacted consumers within the next few hours, Trukhanov added.

Ukraine’s air force said that it shot down 25 out of 29 drones and one of two Kh-59/69 guided missiles launched by Russia during an overnight attack.

Odesa has been a frequent Russian target in the more than 2 1/2-year-old war, as have the port facilities located near the city.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Anastasiia Malenko; editing by Rod Nickel, Stephen Coates and Ros Russell)