Odesa pounded by missiles as Russia hits Ukraine’s ports
LVIV, Ukraine — Russia’s ambitions to overtake southern Ukraine appeared to grow Tuesday as authorities reported the use of hypersonic missiles on the Black Sea city of Odesa.
Ukraine said firefighters were battling blazes in Odesa early Tuesday after seven missiles struck targets including a shopping center and a warehouse, killing at least one person and injuring five. Video posted on Facebook by the Ukrainian army showed rescue groups surrounded by smoking rubble.
Sergey Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military, said in an update that a separate strike by three Kinzhal hypersonic missiles had also hit “tourism” locations in Odesa.
The Kinzhal is more destructive than conventional missiles because its speed — several times that of sound — enables it to better evade anti-missile systems. Its use on Odesa could not be verified, though Russia first claimed to unleash the new weapons in March on targets in western Ukraine.
Pentagon analysts have noticed an uptick in Russian manpower and sorties by fight jets deployed in Ukraine since Monday.
A senior defense official said Tuesday an estimated 2,000 additional Russian troops were moved into the battlefield, probably by air. He could not say what part of the country they were deployed to but noted most Russian offensive attacks remain concentrated in the Donbas region and the ports of Mariupol and Odesa.
Air sorties, which have averaged 200 to 300 per day, totaled more than 300 in the last 24 hours, the official said.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that he could not cite “any evidence” that Russia used hypersonic missiles in its attack on Odesa, as Ukrainian officials have claimed. But he noted Moscow has already fired the weapon in this war and that Russian forces are running through their precision guided missiles “at a pretty fast clip.”
Also Tuesday, U.S. officials sounded the alarm over their ability to continue supplying weapons to Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III wrote Congress earlier this week to urge lawmakers approve up to $40 billion in weapons and other aid for Ukraine before the current $3.5-billion package is depleted.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday the final $100 million in that package runs out next week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, called on world powers to break a Russian blockade of his nation’s ports.