At least 14 killed in Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s Odesa

(Reuters) -A Russian missile attack hit civilian infrastructure in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa on Friday, killing at least 14 people and wounding 46 in Moscow’s deadliest attack in weeks, Ukrainian officials said.

Russia has stepped up its strikes on the southern city in recent weeks, launching drones or missiles almost every day.

“As a result of the Russian missile attack, 14 people were killed, including local residents, a medic and a rescuer,” Oleh Kiper, the regional governor, said on the Telegram messaging app.

The medic and rescuer were killed by a second missile after rushing to the scene to treat people hurt in the initial strike, Kiper added.

Ten private houses, a low pressure gas pipeline and rescue vehicles were damaged in the attack, emergency services said.

Rescuers battled to put out fires on the pipeline and in a private house over a total area of about 120 square metres.

Odesa, one of Ukraine’s biggest ports, has long been a target of Russian attacks, especially after Moscow quit a U.N.-brokered deal that had allowed safe passage for Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea.

“The Russian terror in Odesa is a sign of the weakness of the enemy, which is fighting against Ukrainian civilians at a time when it cannot guarantee the safety of people on its own territory,” Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine has developed and used long-range drones to try to strike back at Russia, stepping up attacks on a string of oil refineries this week in the run-up to Russia’s March 15-17 presidential election.

Moscow denies targeting civilians in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine which it launched in February 2022, although many have been killed in frequent Russian air strikes across the country.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa;Editing by Tom Balmforth and Gareth Jones)