Putin rains down hell on Ukraine’s Odessa in terrifying overnight blitz on Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur – as Russian warmonger’s lawless invasion grinds into its 20th month

Vladimir Putin has rained hell on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa with a powerful rocket attack – just as the city’s large Jewish population marks the holy day of Yom Kippur.

Russian invaders are believed to have attacked Hotel Odessa, a military target used as a training center. Local reports say the building is going up in flames.

Other reports describe a “sustained attack” on the Black Sea port that lasted more than an hour, with Russia firing an arsenal of Shah missiles.

Oleg Veretskiy posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, the invaders’ weapons as “Onyx, Calibers and Shaheds.”

He added: “I can’t remember such a heavy attack on Odessa for a long time. It was loud. Right next to us. We survived. The air raid siren has been withdrawn.’

Many of the more than 12,000 Jews in Odessa were marking the end of their fast on the holy day of Yom Kippur when the rockets struck.

Since its founding in 1795, Odessa has been home to a large population of Jews, who outnumbered any other ethnic group until the mid-20th century.

Explosions have also been reported in Sevastopol, Crimea, which is temporarily occupied by Russia.

The attacks come as President Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine enters its twentieth month without any tangible sign of victory.

Yesterday, Russian airstrikes killed two people and injured three others in Ukraine’s Kherson province – just days after two people were killed and eight others injured on Sunday.

Russian forces have repeatedly attacked the town of Beryslav, destroying an unspecified number of private houses.

According to the region’s governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, the latest strike killed a woman and injured three people, including a police officer.

Another airstrike also killed a 67-year-old man in the village of Lvove, Mr. Prokudin said, without specifying the type of weapons used in the attack.

The affected communities are both in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Kherson region, where the Dnieper River has marked a battle line since November 2022, when Russian troops withdrew across it, boosting the invaded country’s morale.

Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian forces attacked the city of Beryslav and destroyed an unspecified number of private houses. A woman was killed and three people were injured, including a police officer, he said.

In another airstrike, a 67-year-old man was killed in the village of Lvove, Prokudin said, without specifying the type of weapons used in the attack.

A total of five people were injured in the city of Kherson, the region’s capital, on Sunday as a result of repeated Russian bombings, the governor said.

The affected communities are both in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Kherson region, where the Dnieper River, which bisects the province, has marked a battle line since Russian troops withdrew across it in November 2022, a retreat that hit morale of the invaded country gave impetus.

The Russians regrouped on the east bank of the river and regularly shelled towns and villages across the river, including the city of Kherson, which was occupied early in the war but recaptured by Ukrainian forces more than ten months ago.

In another Ukrainian frontline region, Donetsk, authorities installed by Russia on Sunday imposed a number of restrictions on the occupied territories: a curfew from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. on weekdays, a ban on all gatherings or protests, and military censorship on any correspondence, online messages and phone calls. It was not immediately clear how such censorship would work.

In Russia, a Ukrainian drone hit an administrative building in the city of Kursk, causing “insignificant damage” to the roof, regional governor Roman Starovoit reported. He made no mention of any casualties or what the building was.

According to unconfirmed media reports both in Russia and Ukraine, the attacks involved the offices of the Kursk branch of Russia’s main security service, the Federal Security Service, also known as the FSB.

The Russians regrouped on the east bank of the river and regularly shelled towns and villages across the river, including the city of Kherson, the regional capital that was occupied early in the war but recaptured by Ukrainian forces more than ten months ago. troops.

Meanwhile, in Russia, a Ukrainian drone hit an administrative building in the city of Kursk, causing “insignificant” damage to the roof, regional governor Roman Starovoit reported. He made no mention of any casualties or what the building was.

According to unconfirmed media reports both in Russia and Ukraine, the attacks involved the offices of the Kursk branch of Russia’s main security service, the Federal Security Service, also known as the FSB.

The Kursk region in Russia borders Ukraine and is also often the target of attacks. The drone attack took place today to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of the regional capital.

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities, who generally do not acknowledge responsibility for attacks on Russian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was on his way home from North America, where he addressed the UN General Assembly and made his first wartime visit to Canada.

In a statement on social media, Mr. Zelensky said on Saturday that he stopped in Poland on his way back to Ukraine to present state awards to two Polish volunteers.

Mr Zelensky apparently did not meet any Polish officials, but in a message on

Poland has taken in large numbers of Ukrainian refugees and has been a staunch supporter of neighboring Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into the country on February 24, 2022.

However, a trade dispute has recently tested the relationship between Kiev and Warsaw.

The Ukrainian government this month filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over bans on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, which are important to the country’s war-weary economy.

The three European Union member states were angry about this move. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki responded by saying his country “will no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine, because we are now arming ourselves with the most modern weapons.”

His comments left many wondering whether Western resolve to support Ukraine in its war with Russia is waning.