Missiles strike Odesa; 17 killed

new $800m military aid package for Ukraine

At least 30 others were wounded when two Russian missiles hit a nine-storey apartment building and a resort near the Black Sea port city, a day after Ukraine retook Snake Island.

A Russian missile struck a multi-storey apartment building near the Black Sea port of Odesa early on Friday, killing at least 14 people and injuring 30, Kyiv says.

Ukraine says another missile hit two buildings of a recreational centre in the region killing at least three people and injuring another.

The hit came a day after Russia’s defence ministry announced its troops had withdrawn from Snake Island in the Black Sea as a “gesture of goodwill” aimed at demonstrating Moscow’s support for restarting food exports from Ukraine’s ports.

Moscow kept up its push to take control of Lysychansk on Thursday, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province, with Russia’s separatist proxies claiming they had entered the city.

President Joe Biden says the US will soon announce a new $800m military aid package for Ukraine, bringing the total since he took office to nearly $7bn.

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