
One dead, 14 hurt as Russia strikes Odesa, Ukraine drones headed for Moscow shot down
One person was killed in Russian strikes on Odesa, Ukraine.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two Ukraine drones were downed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Gennadiy Shapovalov as commander of the country's ground forces.
One person was killed and at least 14 were injured when Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odesa overnight, damaging high-rise buildings and railway infrastructure, local authorities and prosecutors said on Friday.
Odesa is Ukraine's largest Black Sea port, key for imports and exports, and has been under constant missile and drone attacks by Russia since the war began.
'Despite the active work of air defence forces, there is damage to civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, a higher education institution, a gas pipeline and private cars,' local governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram messenger.
Kiper released photos of burning houses and charred high-rise buildings.
Local emergencies service said that during the attack there were at least 10 drone strikes on residential buildings, causing massive fires.
Ukraine's air force said on Friday that Russia had launched 86 drones on Ukraine overnight.
The military noted its air defence units shot down 34 drones while another 36 drones were lost - in reference to the Ukrainian military using electronic warfare to redirect them - or they were drone simulators that did not carry warheads.
However, the military reported that drones hit eight locations.
Ukrainian state railways Ukrzaliznytsia reported that Odesa railway station was damaged during the attack, with power wires and rails damaged.
Russian drones also attacked Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine overnight, damaging several private and multi-storey houses, Kharkiv officials said.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Friday that air defence systems had downed two drones en route to Russia's capital.
AFP reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday appointed Gennadiy Shapovalov as commander of the country's ground forces, replacing a previous commander who resigned following a deadly Russian strike on an army training ground.
Shapovalov worked as a military aid liaison in Germany and previously commanded Ukraine's southern military district.
In his evening address, Zelensky said he hoped Shapovalov would bring 'real combat experience' to the role and called for changes in the Ukrainian army, which is struggling to hold off Moscow's forces more than three years into Russia's invasion.
'Changes are needed, this is a mandatory issue,' Zelensky said in his evening address.
Moscow's forces have been advancing across the front line for over a year and have been making inroads in Ukraine's Sumy region, which the Kremlin had not occupied since the start of the war.
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