Among the buildings ravaged was an educational institution colloquially referred to as “Harry Potter castle” because of its strong resemblance to the Scottish architectural style.
In a statement on a military Telegram channel, Ukrainian navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk stated that the attackwas carried out by an Iskander-M ballistic missile carrying a cluster warhead.
Odesa governor Oleh Kiper, writing on the Telegram messaging app, stated that in addition to those murdered in the attack, one man died from a stroke caused by the hit.
Russian rockets hit Ukraine’s ‘Harry Potter Castle’; kills 23, injures 23 others
“Monsters. Beasts. Savages. Scum. I don’t know what else to say,” Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said.
“People are going for a walk by the sea and they are shooting and killing,” Trukhanov added.
Unverified video footage shows people seeking care on the street alongside pools of blood. One photograph shows personnel inspecting a missile component.
Pointing towards a burning building, Maria, a student told Reuters, “In front of my eyes, a missile was shot down, this was just in front of me. My doors were blown open and the glass was shaking. And then I saw this.”
“Just before this happened, we wanted to go down there for a walk, but thank God we weren’t there when it happened,” Maria added.
According to public broadcaster Suspilne, Serhiy Kivalov, the academy’s president and a prominent former member of parliament, was among those injured.