Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russian forces are “preparing to bomb Odesa”, warning of an attack on Ukraine’s third-largest city as invading forces advance along the country’s southern Black Sea coast.
The president of Ukraine did not elaborate on details or the source of his knowledge of what he said were Russia’s plans.
“They are preparing to bomb Odesa,” the Ukrainian president said in an address on Sunday. “Russians have always come to Odesa, they have always felt only warmth in Odesa, only sincerity,” Zelensky said. “And now what? Bombs against Odesa? Artillery against Odesa? Missiles against Odesa?
“It will be a war crime. It will be a historical crime.”
Defence analysts have speculated that Moscow might be preparing to move on Odesa as President Vladimir Putin’s troops have gained ground in southern Ukraine, capturing Kherson and other cities over the past week.
Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s national security chief, said in a Facebook post on Sunday that Russian forces are primarily focusing on the south, with the aim of blocking Ukraine’s access to the Black and Azov seas. He said that Russian troops hoped to take the capital Kyiv and surround Dnipro in eastern Ukraine.
In Kherson, the largest city to be occupied, videos posted online on Saturday showed residents gathering in large numbers and directly confronting Russian troops.
Video coverage shot at the scene, whose authenticity was verified by the Centre for Information Resilience, a UK group focused on online research and anti-disinformation work, showed a large crowd appearing to number in the thousands, holding Ukrainian flags, gathered on Kherson’s main Freedom Square.
