Rescue operation continues: Updates on Odesa high-rise building attack

The preparation of the material involved the use of Telegram channels from Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration (ORMA), the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU), President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Odesa City Council, the Air Force, as well as the Twitter account of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Dmytro Kuleba.

Massive attack on Ukrainian territory

Russian terrorists launched an attack on Ukraine overnight on March 2nd:

• with 3 guided aviation missiles X-59/X-35 from the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson and Donetsk regions;
• using 17 Shahed drones from the territory of Russian Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Crimean Balaklava.

During the aerial assault, air defense missile units and mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces destroyed 14 Shahed drones within Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, and several other cities.

Attack on high-rise building in Odesa

Explosions echoed through the Odesa region after the night of March 1st. Following this, the ORMA and the city council reported a strike by one of the enemy drones on a high-rise building. Around 3 a.m., one fatality and seven injuries were reported. Kiper also warned that the search and rescue operation was ongoing.

Other residential high-rises in the city also sustained damage as a result of the attack.

Ukraine needs more air defense systems

Commenting on the nighttime attack by Russian terrorists, Zelenskyy noted that the enemy continues to wage war on civilians. He highlighted that the strike on the high-rise building resulted in the destruction of 18 apartments.

"We need more air defense systems (ADS) from partners. We need to strengthen the Ukrainian air shield to add protection for our people against Russian terror. More ADS systems, more missiles for ADS - this is what saves lives," Zelenskyy added.

Russia acts whenever the West is inactive

As noted by Kuleba, Russia acts whenever the West is inactive. According to him, for every missed ADS delivery to Ukraine, the terrorist country responds with hundreds of rockets and drones.

"For every munition exported from Europe instead of being sent to Ukraine, Russia seizes another square meter of European land. Invest in production, purchase, and prohibit exports beyond Europe right now. The goal is not to act 'as much as needed' but 'as fast and as much as needed.' Act," the minister wrote.

Death toll continued to rise

Already by 7 a.m., the State Emergency Service reported the second victim of the Russian strike - rescuers retrieved the body of another deceased person from under the rubble.

At 9 a.m., it became known about the rescued individual. According to Kiper, the man, presumably at the time of the drone's strike, was in the basement. The victim was conscious; he was immediately examined by doctors.

Photo: Russians hit a high-rise building in Odesa (t.me/dsns_telegram)

After 11 a.m., news emerged of the third victim of the Russian terrorists' strike. At that time, on the first floor level, the body of a deceased child was discovered under the rubble. According to the Odesa City Council, the child was three months old at the time of death. Meanwhile, the Office of the Prosecutor General asserts that the child's age was between 3 and 5 years old.

In Odesa, mourning has been declared, rescuers discovered the body of a fourth person

"Due to the loss of lives in the Russian drone attack, mourning has been declared tomorrow (March 3) in Odesa and the region," announced the head of the Regional Military Administration.

Around 1:00 p.m., rescuers found the body of the fourth person.

"Search operations are ongoing. 95 rescuers and 22 pieces of equipment from the State Emergency Service are involved," said the SES.

As of 1:50 p.m., the following is known:

• 4 fatalities, including one child;
• 8 injured, including one child;
• 5 rescued.