'There can be no excuse for Russian evil,' says Zelenskyy after Russia attacks Odesa

After Russia unleashed multiple attacks in Odesa, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned it and said, "There can be no excuse for Russian evil." This attack by the Russian troops comes after they suspended the Black Sea grain deal. Taking to Twitter, the Ukrainian President wrote, "Missiles against peaceful cities, against residential buildings, a cathedral... There can be no excuse for Russian evil. As always, this evil will lose. And there will definitely be a retaliation to Russian terrorists for Odesa. They will feel this retaliation."

Further, he went on to write, "All those who suffered from this latest terrorist attack are being provided with assistance." Further, 
"I am grateful to everyone who is helping people and to everyone who is with Odesa in their thoughts and emotions. We will get through this. We will restore peace. And for this, we must defeat the Russian evil." 

What happened in Odesa overnight?

The recent images shared by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy have shown the scenes of destruction at a cathedral after a deadly Russian air attack. According the AP reports, one person was killed and 19 were left injured after a strike badly damaged the Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral in the port city. 

Meanwhile, the governor of southern Ukraine's Odesa region, Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram, "Odesa: another night attack of the monsters." The region is situated on the Black Sea and was home to about a million people before the full-scale war started. This region has played an important role in both the defence of Ukraine but also the crucial export of grain to developing countries.

The Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral, or the Transfiguration Cathedral, is Odesa's largest Orthodox church building which was hit by a Russian attack. In the photos shared by the Ukrainian president, one could see the destruction of the church, which was consecrated in 1809 and is part of the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

"The Kasperovska icon of the Mother of God, who is the patroness of Odesa, was retrieved from under the rubble," said the Ukrainian administration, reported Sky News.  

Why is Russia attacking Odesa?

Russia has launched consecutive attacks on Odesa since Moscow dismissed the landmark grain deal on July 17, amid Ukraine's grinding efforts to retake its occupied territories. The city has been a key hub for exporting grain. The centre was given the title of an endangered World Heritage Site by the United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO earlier this year. 

At that time, Russians opposed it. Notably, the Russian air raids this week had damaged significant parts of export facilities in Odesa and nearby Chornomorsk and destroyed 60,000 tons of grain, reported Sky News citing Ukraine's agriculture ministry. The attacks by Russia also come as a retaliation against Kyiv for an attack on the crucial Kerch Bridge linking Russia with the Crimean peninsula, which the Kremlin illegally annexed in 2014.