KYIV
\nUkraine downed three waves of Russian missiles and drones targeting Odesa, its army said early on Monday, the latest in a string of attacks in the southern region on the Black Sea coast.
\n\u201cThe enemy attacked Odesa region three times during the night, using two waves of attack drones, a total of 15, and eight Kalibr-type sea-based missiles,\u201d the Operational Command South wrote on Telegram.
\nAir defense forces repelled all the attacks, but falling debris damaged a student dormitory and a supermarket in Odesa\u2019s city center, leaving three workers wounded, the army said.
\n\u201cThe blast wave damaged windows and balconies in several buildings, and damaged cars parked nearby,\u201d it said, adding that firefighters were battling two blazes.
\nPhotos and videos shared by the army on Telegram showed firefighters trying to extinguish flames engulfing a multi-story supermarket, with a large plume of smoke rising into the air.
\nRussia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks in the Black Sea since Moscow exited a deal last month that had granted Kyiv\u2019s grain exports safe passage during the conflict.
\nSince withdrawing from the agreement, Moscow has pounded ports in the Odesa region that were key for Ukrainian grain exports under the deal.
\nThe overnight missile and drone attacks come a day after Moscow said warning shots were fired from a Russian warship at a cargo vessel heading toward Izmail, a city on the Danube river in Odesa.
\nThe Russian ship spotted the Sukru Okan cargo vessel sailing under the flag of Palau and fired the shots after its captain did not respond to demands to stop.
\nAfter inspection, the cargo ship was allowed to continue its journey.
\nOn August 2, Russia struck port infrastructure in Izmail, one of the main export routes for Ukrainian agricultural products to neighboring Romania.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KYIV Ukraine downed three waves of Russian missiles and drones targeting Odesa, its army said early on Monday, the latest in a string of attacks in the southern region on the Black Sea coast. \u201cThe enemy attacked Odesa region three times during the night, using two waves of attack drones, a total of 15, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-349271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n