After the December lull, attacks by the army of the occupying state on Odesa Oblast resumed, targeting ports, cultural heritage and infrastructure. Nineteen architectural monuments in central Odesa, an area protected by UNESCO, sustained varying degrees of damage. The Russian Federation’s ecocide continues.
13.01.2025
On 13 December at about 08:00, the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched missile strikes on civilian infrastructure in Odesa Oblast.
The attack damaged administrative premises and trucks belonging to a private transport company, as well as nearby private houses.
17.01.2025
On the night of 17 January, the armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out a UAV attack on civilian and port infrastructure in the Danube region.
The attack damaged administrative buildings and a private household.
28.01.2025
On the morning of 28 January, the armed forces of the Russian Federation attacked Odesa and the region with drones, preliminarily identified as Shahed-136s.
The enemy attack damaged residential buildings in the city: parts of apartments on the 18th and 19th floors of one residential complex were destroyed, and windows were blown out in four multi-storey buildings. Several dozen vehicles were damaged, at least six of them completely destroyed by fire. Three people are currently known to have been injured; medical assistance was provided at the scene.
At least six private residential buildings and outbuildings were damaged in Odesa district. A grain warehouse was also damaged. A 91-year-old man was wounded and taken to hospital.
29.01.2025
On the night of 29 January, the armed forces of the Russian Federation attacked Izmail district with strike drones. Port infrastructure facilities were damaged.
30.01.2024
On the night of 30 January, the armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out a UAV attack on civilian and port infrastructure in the Danube region.
In Izmail, five multi-storey buildings, about 15 private houses, two educational institutions — a school and a kindergarten — two cultural institutions — a library and an art gallery — and the outpatient clinic of the former Danube Regional Hospital were damaged.
A 26-year-old woman was injured and taken to hospital.
31.01.2025 – 01.02.2025
Attack on Odesa
On the evening of 31 January, the armed forces of the Russian Federation attacked Odesa with ballistic missiles, preliminarily identified as Iskanders. An air-raid alert was declared in Odesa Oblast at about 19:20. The Ukrainian Air Force warned of a threat of ballistic weapons from the south.
Seven people are known to have been wounded. All were in moderate condition.
Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov reported that the target of the missile attack was once again the ‘Historic Centre of Odesa’, which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. A total of 19 architectural monuments sustained varying degrees of damage.
The Bristol Hotel building, one of the most distinctive architectural structures in the central part of the city, sustained significant damage.
The powerful blast wave damaged nearby historic buildings. Nineteen cultural heritage monuments sustained varying degrees of damage.
The main damage consisted of shattered window panes and displaced wooden frames. Among the affected sites were two monuments of national significance:
• Philharmonic Hall (New Stock Exchange)
• Vuchyni House (19 Italiiska Street)
As well as two museums:
• Museum of Western and Eastern Art
• Branch of the Literary Museum (Sicard House)
Stained-glass windows and authentic wooden fittings of large semicircular windows in the buildings of the Union of Architects of Ukraine and Porto-Franco Bank sustained significant damage.
The most valuable of the damaged buildings from both an architectural and social perspective is the Philharmonic Hall (New Stock Exchange). The blast wave blew out the authentic wooden fittings of the main ceremonial entrance and damaged stained-glass windows and interior finishes.
Since 2023, the Philharmonic building has been under UNESCO enhanced protection pursuant to the 1999 Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
On its official Facebook page, the international organisation UNESCO condemned the missile strike on the World Heritage property, the Historic Centre of Odesa, which took place on 31 January and caused serious damage to at least two cultural buildings protected under the UNESCO Convention.
The statement also noted that UNESCO would send a mission to Odesa in the near future.
Attack on Odesa district
On the night of 1 February, the armed forces of the Russian Federation attacked Odesa Oblast with drones, preliminarily identified as Shahed-136s.
At least five private residential buildings, outbuildings and a gas pipeline were damaged in Odesa district. A 77-year-old woman and a 9-year-old girl suffered acute stress reactions.
Attack on Chornomorsk
Civilian and port infrastructure facilities in Chornomorsk were targeted. According to the Regional Military Administration, four people were injured in the strike, including a doctor. Mohammed Zakaria, head of the surgical department at Chornomorsk City Hospital, was wounded. He was operating on a patient at the time of the attack. The blast wave shattered glass in the operating room and the surgeon was injured. Despite this, the doctor returned to work the next day.
A truck driver and two municipal utility employees were also injured. Two were hospitalised, while the others are receiving outpatient treatment.
The city hospital, a private residential building, an administrative building, a grain warehouse and trucks were damaged. Problems arose with electricity supply to part of Chornomorsk and its suburbs.