Ukraine says eight killed in Odesa; Russia cites only ‘transport and storage sites’

December 20, 2025 - 17:53

A Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa in southern Ukraine killed eight people and wounded 27, AP reported Saturday, citing Ukraine’s emergency service, as a Kremlin envoy was set to travel to Florida for talks on a U.S.-proposed plan to end the nearly four-year war.

The discussions are part of the Trump administration’s monthslong push for peace that also included meetings with Ukrainian and European officials in Berlin earlier this week.

Some of those wounded in Odesa were on a bus at the center of the strike late Friday, the emergency service said in a Telegram post. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot, and cars were also damaged.

The port was struck with ballistic missiles, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region.

Moscow did not immediately acknowledge reports of the attack. The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that over the previous day, it had struck unspecified “transport and storage infrastructure used by the Ukrainian armed forces,” along with energy facilities and those supplying Kyiv’s war effort.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil rig, the military patrol ship Okhotnik, and other facilities, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement Saturday. It said the ship was patrolling in the Caspian Sea near an oil and gas production platform.