Russian Missiles Hit Odesa for 3rd Time05/02 06:03

   Russia struck the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa with ballistic 
missiles in a nighttime attack, injuring 14 people and starting a massive 
blaze, local officials and emergency services said.

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russia struck the southern Ukrainian port city of 
Odesa with ballistic missiles in a nighttime attack, injuring 14 people and 
starting a massive blaze, local officials and emergency services said.

   The third attack on the city in a week hit a sorting depot belonging to 
Ukraine's biggest private delivery company, Nova Poshta. No staff were injured, 
the company said, but the strike started a major fire.

   On Monday, six people were killed in a Russian missile strike on Odesa, and 
two days later three people died there when the Kremlin's forces targeted 
civilian infrastructure.

   Long-range strikes have been a feature of Europe's biggest conflict since 
World War II, which mostly has focused on attrition. Kyiv officials have 
pleaded for more air defense systems from Ukraine's Western partners, but they 
have been slow in coming. Cities in Russia's crosshairs, including recent 
target Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, are pulverized by Moscow's missiles, 
drones and glide bombs.

   Russia has pushed Ukraine onto the back foot on the battlefield as Kyiv 
grapples with shortages of troops and ammunition against a bigger enemy. 
Ukrainian forces are now racing to build more defensive fortifications.

   Odesa, a key export hub for millions of tons of Ukrainian grain exports 
through the Black Sea, has been repeatedly targeted by Russia. Thursday was the 
10th anniversary of clashes in the city between pro- and anti-Russia 
demonstrators that left 48 people dead.

   Ukraine has deployed increasingly sophisticated long-range drones to hit 
back, aiming at targets on Russian soil, especially infrastructure that 
sustains the Russian economy and war effort.

   The governors of three Russian regions reported that energy facilities were 
damaged by Ukrainian drone strikes overnight. Oryol region Gov. Andrei Klychkov 
said energy infrastructure was hit in two communities. The Smolensk and Kursk 
governors reported one facility damaged in each region.

   The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian drones were shot down over the 
Bryansk, Krasnodar, Rostov and Belgorod regions. Most were intercepted in 
Bryansk, where five were brought down, it said.