Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to avenge the attack, which he called 'evil' Credit: OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP
At least one person died and dozens were injured when Russian rockets hit Odessa's largest cathedral, setting it on fire and severely damaging its roof and artwork.
Oleg Kiper, the region's governor, said 25 historic buildings were damaged in a nighttime shelling of the historic city of Odessa on Sunday.
The flames in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior melted gold decorations from the walls and burned t paintings, videos and photographs were shown.
Firefighters saved the icons, and the priest knelt down and prayed at the steps littered with rubble. With his right hand, he covered his face, and with his left he grabbed a pole.
“The Transfiguration Cathedral in Odessa is no more. That's it,” said the person who filmed the video inside the cathedral shortly after the attack. “The altar is gone and there are three fires.”
The roof collapsed in the cathedral, cracks formed in its thick walls, and many neoclassical columns broke.
Later, Oleksiy Goncharenko, People’s Deputy of Ukraine, a resident of Odessa, filmed people removing pieces of masonry, broken glass and pieces of burnt paintings from the cathedral.
“This morning there was supposed to be a mass, but now instead you see that it is destroyed”, he said.
Singing priests later celebrated the liturgy on the steps of the cathedral. a cathedral next to a gaping hole in its cracked walls. Hundreds of people lined up to put lit candles on golden stands rescued from the fire.
The Transfiguration Cathedral in Odessa was founded in 1794 under Catherine the Great. It was demolished by Soviet troops in 1936 and rebuilt in 1999.
Flames in the Transfiguration Cathedral melted gold decorations from the walls and burned paintings. Photo: Libkos/AP
It is run by the diocese of a branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is closely linked to the Russian Patriarchate, the main supporter of Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.
A few hours after the strike in Odessa, Putin, together with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, visited the cathedral in St. Petersburg. Putin, who loves to glorify his piety, lit a candle and crossed himself in front of an Orthodox icon.
The center of Odessa was also heavily damaged by Russian rocket fire. Cars lay mangled, rubble littered the roads, tsarist-era rooftops were missing, and Soviet-era apartment balconies were crumpled.
Ukrainian officials said Russian troops fired 19 rockets into Odessa, nine of which were shot down. By Sunday afternoon, one person had been confirmed dead and more than 22 injured, including three children.
Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to avenge the attack, which he called “evil.”
“Rockets hit the peaceful city, residential buildings and the cathedral,” he said. “There will definitely be retribution for Russian terrorism in Odessa.”
A boy helps to remove items from the cathedral. where terrorist attacks against the Russian Federation were being prepared.”
Later, she denied hitting the Transfiguration Cathedral, explaining its destruction by “the fall of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft guided missile.”
Russia has been hitting Odessa and other southern ports since last Monday, when the Kremlin backed out of a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain.
Several strikes were carried out against Odessa's grain terminals, destroying hundreds of tons of food.
The attacks on Black Sea ports came as Ukrainian forces began using US cluster munitions to galvanize a stalled counteroffensive.
On Sunday, Russian cluster bombs hit the Palace of Culture in the town of Chasov Yar, Donetsk region, which was used as a clinic and aid distribution point. No one was injured.
The cathedral's roof collapsed, cracking its thick walls. Photo: Libkos/AP .
“Russia has probably made only marginal gains, but its renewed activity in the north highlights its importance to the Kremlin,” the intelligence report said.
Mr. Lukashenko said after a church service with Putin that Wagner mercenaries who had fled to his country wanted to attack Poland.
He said the militants, who were exiled to Belarus after raising and a rebellion against Moscow, they wanted to go “on an excursion to Warsaw, to Rzeszow.”
“I keep them in the central part of Belarus, as we agreed. We control what happens to Wagner,” he said in comments clearly meant to alarm NATO.
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