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A Russian missile attack struck a five-star hotel in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Friday evening, wounding two women, the mayor said.
“Work is underway in the south of our country, in Odesa, to repair the damage caused by Russian missile strikes,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address, adding that for the moment it was suspected that Russia fired “ballistic” missiles.
“Russian terrorists attacked the historic center of Odesa with missiles,” the city’s Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov wrote on Telegram.
“Two women were injured,” the regional Governor Oleh Kiper said, adding that they had been “hospitalized in a moderate condition.”
Kiper posted photos showing rescuers wheeling a woman on a stretcher outside the Bristol, a five-star hotel in a 19th-century building.
The photos also show damage to the building’s ornate facade and interior, including a grand staircase.
“There is a lot of damage and destruction in the UNESCO-protected area, a building that is under enhanced protection was damaged,” the mayor said.
Odesa’s historic center is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Ukrainian media posted photos showing what appears to be a large crater in front of the hotel entrance.
Russian military bloggers alleged that foreign military specialists were staying in the hotel.
The Black Sea city is regularly targeted by strikes, often on the port area.
Its Transfiguration Cathedral — destroyed by the Soviets and rebuilt in the 2000s — was badly damaged by a Russian strike in July 2023.
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