Russia launches hundreds of drones against Odessa hours after meeting in Istanbul
According to official information, a nine-story residential building was destroyed in the attack and fires were reported at a gas station and a market. So far, the total number of casualties following the drone strike has not been confirmed.
A Ukrainian firefighter tries to put out a fire after the Russian drone attack.
Russia on Wednesday night attacked the Black Sea port city of Odessa with at least 103 drones. The massive attack caused severe damage to civilian infrastructure according to local authorities.
The bombings happened a few hours after the third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine, which took place in Istanbul. A nine-story residential building was destroyed, fires were recorded at a gas station and at the local Pryvoz market, and there is a risk of structural collapse in part of the affected complex, the official report revealed.
Rescue teams in the area evacuated 33 residents and managed to rescue five who were trapped in their homes. "Those living in the apartments from the fifth to the eighth floor were left homeless," an emergency services report said.
Odessa region Governor Oleh Kiper said the architectural and historical heritage of the UNESCO-protected city center was also damaged.
World
Russia launches a new massive attack of 300 drones and 30 missiles against Ukraine, defying Washington's warnings
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón
The bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers and "24- to 48-hour" ceasefires
Discussions in Istanbul in May and June had also generated nothing more than agreements on exchanges of prisoners and bodies of dead soldiers.
Moscow also proposed to Kiev to hand over the bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers, as well as "24- to 48-hour" ceasefires on the front so that both armies can recover their dead and wounded.
In parallel, Russia also launched a missile attack on the city of Cherkasy in central Ukraine. According to regional governor Ihor Taburets, at least six people were wounded.
So far, the total number of casualties following the drone-led bombing has not been confirmed.
Following the attack in Odessa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of "continu[ing] its terror and obstruct[ing] diplomacy," and called for large-scale sanctions, as well as targeted attacks against Russian logistics, bases and military infrastructure.
">Yesterday, at the meeting in Istanbul, the proposal for an immediate and full ceasefire was reiterated to the Russian side. In response, Russian drones struck residential buildings and the Pryvoz market in Odesa, apartment blocks in Cherkasy, energy infrastructure in the Kharkiv… pic.twitter.com/Ax9Q0xEM6z
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 24, 2025
Plane with 49 people on board crashes in Russian Far East
It was also learned that an airliner with 49 people on board crashed Thursday in the Amur region of the Russian Far East.
An Mi-8 helicopter operated by the Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia "detected the burning fuselage of the aircraft," the Emergency Situations Ministry said on Telegram.
The civil protection center of this remote region also indicated that the rescue helicopter did not detect any survivors when it flew over the area of the accident. However, according to the center, teams are investigating on the ground.
Previously, the governor of the region, Vasily Orlov, had warned that the aircraft, which was flying between Blagoveshchensk and Tynda, had disappeared from the radars.
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