Kyiv (Ukraine):Russia launched an intense series of night-time air attacks sending drones and missiles toward places across Ukraine, and targeting the southern port city of Odesa for a second night in a row, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday. Meanwhile, Russian emergency officials in Crimea said that over 2,200 people were evacuated from four villages because of a fire at a military facility. The fire also caused the closure of an important highway, according to Sergey Aksyonov, the Russia-appointed head of the region, which was annexed in 2014.
He did not specify a cause for the fire at the facility in Kirovsky district, which came two days after an attack on a bridge linking Russia to the peninsula that the Kremlin has blamed on Ukraine. "A difficult night of air attacks for all of Ukraine," said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration in a statement on Telegram. Ukrainian authorities reported more drones and missiles sent against more parts of Ukraine than in recent days.
Popko said the attacks were especially fierce in Odesa for a second consecutive night. Odesa's regional governor Oleh Kiper said the details of damage and possible casualties following Russia's "powerful" attack in the region would be provided later. Russia also attacked Kyiv with Iranian-made Shahed drones but with "no result," said Popko. Ukrainian air defense intercepted all the drones aimed at the capital and a preliminary investigation showed there were no casualties.