Russian attack on Odesa kills one, damages cathedral, Ukrainian officials say

A Russian air attack on Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa killed one, injured nearly 20 and badly damaged an Orthodox cathedral. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Sunday’s attack and vowed payback.

A Russian air attack on Ukraine's southern port of Odesa early on July 23 killed one, injured nearly 20 and badly damaged an Orthodox cathedral, Ukrainian officials said, adding the icon of the patroness of the city had been retrieved from under the rubble.

"Odesa: another night attack of the monsters," Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region, said on the Telegram messaging app.

One person was killed and 19 injured, including four children, in the missile attacks that also destroyed six houses and apartment buildings. Fourteen people were hospitalised, he said.

The Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral, or the Transfiguration Cathedral, was severely damaged, Odesa's military administration said. Odesa's largest church building, it is located in the historic city centre, which is a UNESCO world heritage site.

"The Kasperovska icon of the Mother of God, who is the patroness of Odesa, was retrieved from under the rubble," the administration said on its Telegram channel.

Parts of the building were destroyed, the floors were covered in rubble and chunks were ripped off the cathedral's ornate walls.

Russia's Defence Ministry reported strikes on targets in the area but denied it had struck the cathedral and said the building had probably been hit by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile.