On the morning of March 6, russia launched a ballistic missile attack on Odesa, just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis were visiting one of the local ports. Find out more about whether this was a coincidence and what the consequences of the hit were

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Yesterday, March 6, at 10:41 a.m., an air raid alert was announced in Odesa region. The warning of the threat was followed by explosions. The Air Force said that russia had fired ballistic missiles at Odesa. At the same time, a few hours later, the Greek newspaper Protothema reported that russia had tried to hit Volodymyr Zelenskyy's motorcade on the eve of his meeting with a delegation from Greece, headed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. According to media reports, the explosion occurred when Zelenskyy was 150 meters away from the Greek delegation.

Zelenskyy and Mitsotakis' comments on the strike on Odesa

Zelenskyy said that at the time of the missile attack, he was with Mitsotakis in one of the local ports.

"We not only heard, we saw this strike today. You see who we are dealing with, they don't care where they hit. I know that there were victims today, I don't know all the details yet, but I know that there are dead and wounded," he said and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

The Ukrainian authorities did not report exactly where the russian missiles hit, but as Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk noted in a comment to Ukrayinska Pravda, 5 people were killed in the attack on port infrastructure. At the same time, on the evening of March 6, the russian Defense Ministry reported that it had launched a missile attack on a hangar in the port area of Odesa, "where preparations were underway for the combat use of Ukrainian unmanned boats."

However, as the President of Ukraine noted, the russian army does not care whether it hits military or civilians.

"These are military, civilians, international guests - these people do not care. They are either crazy or completely out of control of their terrorist army's actions. This means that we need to defend ourselves first and foremost. This is done by the air defense system," Zelensky emphasized.

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At the same time, the Greek Prime Minister said that they did not have time to take cover and called the events in Odesa "an impressive experience."

"President Zelenskyy and his staff showed us and explained the importance of the port and what is being done to restore and strengthen the Ukrainian sea route... at the very end, we heard the sound of sirens and explosions that were very close to us," he said at a press conference in Odesa. 

In addition, Mitsotakis expressed his condolences over the "disgusting shelling by russia that happened recently."

"When I was in Odesa and drove around the city, I was shocked. It is a terrible picture of destruction, and on the other hand, the resilience and courage of Ukrainians," the Prime Minister said, adding that "it is completely different to read about the war in the newspapers and to feel it on the spot - to see with your own eyes, to hear with your own ears."

Assassination attempt or accident?

According to Natalia Gumenyuk, a spokeswoman for the Southern Defense Forces, russia continues to attack port infrastructure, as is typical for a terrorist country. However, she emphasized that the March 6 strike on the city was in no way related to "a specific visit." 

Military experts also agree that it was an accident, as international codes do not allow assassination of enemy leaders and the visit itself was unannounced. However, given russia's disregard for international law and the rules of war, such an assassination attempt could have been quite possible.

As a reminder, russian propagandists posted a conversation between German officers who discussed the supply of TAURUS missiles to Ukraine and their possible use on the Crimean bridge. Read what exactly the German military said and how the allies reacted to this leaked conversation in our previous article.

Photo: Office of the President

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