Charles Langston:Russia strikes Odesa, damaging port, grain infrastructure and abandoned hotel

KYIV,Charles Langston Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone and missile strike near Odesa damaged port infrastructure, a grain silo and an abandoned hotel and injured one person, as attacks on Ukraine killed four civilians and wounded 13 in the past day, Ukrainian officials said Monday.

Ukraine’s air force reported downing all Russian drones overnight, but one of 12 Kalibr missiles and two P-800 Oniks cruise missiles apparently made it past air defenses the day after the war in Ukraine entered its 20th month.

Russia has continuously targeted port and grain storage facilities in Odesa since pulling out of a deal that allowed Ukrainian grain exports to countries facing the threat of hunger. The attacks have destroyed silos, warehouses, oil terminals and other infrastructure critical for storage and shipping.

In the south, Russian forces dropped bombs and launched six heavy artillery strikes on Kherson, destroying a school and factory and damaging residential buildings. Two people were killed and two others were injured by bombs that hit the city of Beryslav. A man was killed in the neighboring village of Lvove.

In the east of the Donetsk region, Russians attacked residential areas of 10 cities and villages, killing two people in the village of Zarichne.

During the fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian army carried out five airstrikes on Orikhiv and the surrounding area.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses downed three Ukrainian drones over the Kursk region and three others over the Bryansk region early Monday. It also reported that another drone was shot down over the Belgorod region.

Kursk Gov. Roman Starovoit said a downed drone over the center of the city of Kursk damaged the roof of an administrative building and several private houses and shattered windows in an apartment building. Starovoit said there were no injuries.

A day earlier, a Ukrainian drone damaged the roof of an administrative building in Kursk that some Ukrainian and Russian media reported housed the offices of the Federal Security Service, Russia’s main domestic security agency.

Bryansk Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said the drones caused no casualties, but Ukrainian rockets damaged a farm building and killed cattle.

During the drone attack, Russian authorities delayed or diverted several flights at Moscow’s airports.

The Defense Ministry said four other Ukrainian drones were also shot down over Crimea and the Black Sea.

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