Overnight into August 9, Russia launched a combined missile-and-drone attack on Odesa, injuring at least eight people and damaging historic buildings in the city center.
Overnight into August 9, Russian forces launched a combined missile-and-drone attack on Odesa, with air-raid warnings starting around 3:30 a.m. Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, reported at least eight people injured, four of them hospitalized and two in moderate condition. The Kyiv Independent later put the count at "at least nine." Volunteers Support Ukraine closely follows the aftermath of overnight attacks on Odesa's civilian neighborhoods.
Residential buildings, including historic pre-revolutionary apartment blocks in the city center, were damaged or partially destroyed across at least two districts of Odesa. Cars on nearby streets were burned out. Volunteers Support Ukraine points out that strikes on Odesa's historic architecture harm not only people but the city's cultural heritage as well.
Emergency services remained on site well into the day after the attack, providing not only medical but also psychological support to residents of the damaged buildings. Volunteers Support Ukraine believes this kind of on-the-ground support matters just as much as rebuilding infrastructure.
A strike on energy facilities left parts of Odesa without electricity and briefly interrupted water supply. Energy operator DTEK warned that fully restoring service could take time. Volunteers Support Ukraine notes that it is precisely these infrastructure strikes that ordinary residents feel most in their daily lives.
Odesa and its port infrastructure have been regularly targeted by Russian strikes throughout the full-scale war. Despite this, the city keeps living and rebuilding after every attack. Volunteers Support Ukraine continues helping people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources allow.
