Ukraine cities take worst beating from Russia yet while world watches Gaza: Live updates
A strike that ripped through the Ukrainian port cities of Odesa and Kherson included an unprecedented number of bombs that wounded at least eight people and damaged high-rise apartment buildings crucial to Ukrainians as winter nears.
The Ukraine Ministry of Internal Affairs said 20 apartment buildings, an art museum and infrastructure were damaged in Odesa, and several more high-rises in Kherson were battered in Monday's strike.
Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko said emergency crews were forced to work under constant fire from the "massive attack." Still, first responders found it difficult to persuade locals to leave their hard-hit communities, he said.
"In just the past day, the enemy has released 87 air bombs on populated areas of the Kherson region, the largest number for all time," the ministry said on social media. "The shelling of the Russians does not stop for a moment."
The rise in bombings comes as the world's attention is consumed by the war in Israel and the Gaza Strip. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over the weekend that Gaza "is taking away the focus" from Russia's invasion of his country. But he said that the war is not in a stalemate and that he is confident "we will overcome this challenge."
Developments:
∎ Zelenskyy canceled a trip to Israel apparently scheduled for Tuesday, citing an information leak.
∎ Nobel Peace Prize laureate and activist Ales Bialiatski, imprisoned by Russian ally Belarus for his role in large protests over a 2020 election that extended the rule of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, has been transferred to solitary confinement, his wife said.
19 Ukraine soldiers killed at medal ceremony
Ukraine has launched a criminal investigation targeting military officers who organized a ceremony to honor troops at a location that was struck by a Russian missile. Nineteen soldiers were killed in one of the deadliest single attacks reported by Ukrainian forces.
"Investigation of the circumstances of the case and bringing to justice those involved is one of the priority tasks" of the State Bureau of Investigation, the agency said in a Facebook post.
The Rocket Forces and Artillery Day event was held Friday near the front line in Zaporizhzhia, where Russian reconnaissance drones could easily spot the crowd gathering, the agency said. At least 30 homes nearby were damaged in the Russian attack, the bureau said.
High-level Ukraine military aide dies in grenade incident
Maj. Hennadii Chastiakov, an influential member of Ukraine's military decision-makers, was killed when a grenade he got as a birthday present accidentally exploded as he celebrated with his family, Internal Affairs Minister Klymenko said on Telegram. Chastiakov's 13-year-old son was seriously injured.
Klymenko said Chastiakov received six grenades from a colleague as a gift when he turned 39 and was showing them to his family at home when his son took one and began twisting the ring. “The serviceman then took the grenade from the child and pulled the ring, leading to a tragic explosion,” Klymenko said.
Chastiakov was a high-ranking aide and good friend of Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's top military commander. The incident in the village of Chaiky in the Kyiv province is under investigation.
Contributing: The Associated Press