Unesco condemns deadly Russia strike on Ukraine's Odesa

The UN's Paris-based heritage agency Unesco has condemned Russia's "brazen" attack on Odesa, which hit several sites in the port city's World Heritage centre, killing at least two people.

This photograph taken on July 23, 2023, shows the destructed Transfiguration Cathedral as a result of a missile strike in Odesa, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. © AFP - OLEKSANDR GIMANOV

"Unesco is deeply dismayed and condemns in the strongest terms the brazen attack carried out by the Russian forces, which hit several cultural sites in the city centre of Odesa, home to the World Heritage property 'The Historic Centre of Odesa'", the body said in a statement on Sunday.

The strike, Russia's latest attack on the Black Sea city and one of Ukraine's most important ports, killed at least two people.

Unesco chief Audrey Azoulay said it marked "an escalation of violence against [the] cultural heritage of Ukraine".

• Unesco adds Ukrainian city of Odesa to world heritage list

The strike notably damaged the Transfiguration Cathedral, originally built in 1794 under imperial Russian rule, demolished under Soviet leader Stalin in 1936 and rebuilt in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine's leader, President Volodymyr Zelensky, vowed retaliation. "They will definitely feel this," he said.

An interior view shows the Transfiguration Cathedral damaged during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine July 23, 2023. REUTERS/Nina Liashonok TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY REUTERS - STRINGER

Destroyed twice

The cathedral is the biggest Orthodox church in Odesa and lies within the Unesco-protected historic city centre.

Ukraine said it had been "destroyed twice: by Stalin and Putin".

Images showed smashed mosaics on the cathedral floor as workers cleared the rubble. The outside of the building appeared intact.

• EU and Western allies commit to Ukraine's post-war reconstruction

"There was a direct hit to the cathedral, it completely damaged three altars," Father Myroslav, the assistant rector of the cathedral said.

He said icons were pulled out from under the rubble and that the shrine is "very badly damaged inside", with "only the bell tower intact".

Residential areas hit

Clergymen said a security guard and a priest readying for a morning liturgy were inside during the attack, but both survived.

Russia blamed the cathedral damage on Ukrainian air defence.

Moscow said it had hit all its intended targets in the Odesa strike, claiming the sites were being used to prepare "terrorist acts" against Russia.

But on the ground, locals said Russia had hit ordinary residential areas.

Rescuers stand in front of residential buildings damaged during Russian missile strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine July 23, 2023. REUTERS - STRINGER

The strike on the port city came just hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin met his closest ally, Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, for talks.

Putin claimed Kyiv's counteroffensive had "failed" during the meeting with Lukashenko in Saint Petersburg – the first time the two leaders have met since Minsk helped end a revolt by Russian Wagner fighters.

Russia launched a wave of attacks on the Black Sea port this week, after exiting the Black Sea grain deal allowing the safe passage of cargo ships between Moscow, Kyiv, Istanbul and the UN.

Ukraine has vowed to find a way to continue exports from the ports and said Sunday that repeated Russian strikes on Odesa this week were an attempt to "prevent and neutralise international efforts to restore the functioning of the "grain corridor".

 (with AFP)