Kyiv says Russian strikes 'destroyed' UNESCO-listed Odesa cathedral

KYIV: Kyiv on Sunday said Russian strikes “destroyed” an Orthodox cathedral under UNESCO protection in Odesa’s historic city centre, calling it a “war crime”.

“The Transfiguration Cathedral, located in the historic centre of Odesa, protected by UNESCO, was destroyed. A war crime that will never be forgotten and forgiven,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Twitter.

Ukraine said the death toll from overnight strikes by Russia on the port of Odesa rose to two, with 22 people wounded, including four children.

“A man born in 1974 was killed in the night time shelling,” Igor Klymenko, Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, said on Telegram, bringing the toll to two. “Twenty-two people were injured. Among them are four children: 11, 12, and two 17-year-olds.”