During the night, the Russian Federation launched a massive attack on the Odesa region using strike drones. As reported by the head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, Oleg Kiper, two people were injured as a result of the attack, and the port infrastructure of the region was also damaged.
This is reported by Finway
«Unfortunately, two people were harmed. Port infrastructure facilities were hit.»
According to Oleg Kiper, as a result of two waves of attacks, equipment, property, and cargo transport were damaged. Rescuers are working promptly at the scene, managing to extinguish the fires that broke out after the shelling. Special services continue to address the aftermath of the strikes.
Scale of the night attack and actions of air defense forces
According to the information from the Ukrainian Air Force, on the night of May 14, Russian troops used 675 strike drones, three Kh-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, 18 ballistic missiles, and 25 cruise missiles. By 8 a.m., air defense forces had neutralized 693 aerial targets, indicating an unprecedented level of protection for Ukrainian skies, but also a high intensity of shelling.
Systematic attacks and signs of genocide
Russian troops continue to regularly attack Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure with various types of weapons: strike drones, missiles, guided bombs, and multiple launch rocket systems. Ukrainian authorities and international organizations classify such strikes as war crimes with a targeted nature.
Shelling of essential facilities, including energy, water supply, medical institutions, and educational establishments, is viewed by human rights defenders and researchers as actions indicative of genocide. They highlight the public statements of Russian officials denying the existence of Ukrainians as a people, calls for the destruction of the Ukrainian nation, persecution of citizens with pro-Ukrainian positions in occupied territories, deportation of children, destruction of cultural heritage, and Ukrainian books.
The UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted in 1948, obliges member states to prevent such crimes and punish the perpetrators both in wartime and peacetime. Genocide is defined as acts aimed at destroying a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, including killings, causing serious bodily harm, creating conditions leading to destruction, and the forcible transfer of children, among others.
Despite international norms, the leadership of the Russian Federation continues to deny strikes on civilian infrastructure, while the Ukrainian side emphasizes that the attacks by the Russian army are systematic and targeted, leading to the deaths of civilians and the destruction of critical infrastructure facilities.