Vlad blitz hits Odesa supply line

RUSSIAN forces have launched a large-scale missile strike on the port city of Odesa, killing one person.

The blasts destroyed buildings and sparked a huge blaze inside a shopping and entertainment centre.

Among the missiles used were three hypersonic Kinzhal – or “dagger” missiles – which are launched by air or submarine.

They are capable of travelling up to 1,200 miles at Mach 12 – or about three miles a second and are almost impossible to shoot down.

The attacks came hours after a visit by European Council president Charles Michel, who warned of food shortages sparked by the invasion.

He said strikes on Odesa meant supplies were being blocked from reaching far away parts of Ukraine.

Michel said: “This badly needed food is stranded because of the war and blockade of Black Sea ports causing dramatic consequences for vulnerable countries. We need a global response.”

Meanwhile, dead bodies of 44 civilians have been found under rubble in Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv, close to the Russian border.

They were victims of Russian air strikes, believed to have included thermobaric missiles, which hit a fivestorey building in the town of Izyum.

Their remains were discovered after Ukraine forces launched a bold counter-attack against invading troops, driving them towards the Russian border.

The Ukraine offensive launched in the past few days in the region has forced Vladimir Putin’s forces out of the briefly occupied community.

Officials say the Russian strikes – believed to have been launched in March – were further evidence of Moscow’s troops committing war crimes.

Kharkiv governor Oleh Synehubov announced the grim discovery yesterday branding it further proof of Russia targeting civilians.

He said: “This is another horrible war crime of the Russian occupiers against the civilian population.”