Missile strikes postal depot in Ukraine’s Odesa, 14 injured, regional governor says

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(Reuters) -A Russian ballistic missile struck a postal depot in the Ukrainian port of Odesa late on Wednesday, injuring 14 people and triggering a large fire, Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said.

It was the third missile attack on the city in as many days.

Kiper, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said one of the injured required hospital treatment.

The head of the Nova Poshta postal and courier company, Volodymyr Popereshniuk, said on Facebook that all 18 employees on duty had made their way safely to a bomb shelter before the missile hit a loading section of the depot.

Pictures and video posted online showed flames and billowing clouds of smoke engulfing buildings and firefighters training their hoses on areas still ablaze. Most of the loading area appeared to have been reduced to a shell.

One Odesa media outlet posted a video it said showed the moment of impact, with debris flying inside the facility.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. Russia denies targeting civilian sites.

Odesa is a frequent target of Russian attacks and missiles have hit sites in the city over the past two days, killing eight people.

Many of the attacks since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022 have singled out the city’s port infrastructure.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleskander Kozhukhar; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Lincoln Feast)