(Reuters) – A Russian missile strike destroyed the new runway at the main airport in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, a strategic port on the Black Sea, military and civilian officials said.
“The runway of Odessa airport has been destroyed. We will, of course, rebuild it. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a belated speech.
The governor of the Odessa region, Maxim Marchenko, said that Russia used a Bastion missile launched from Crimea.
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“Praise be to God, no one was injured. Measures are being taken to prevent sabotage in the area,” he said in a video posted on the Internet.
The mayor of Odessa, Gennady Trukhanov, said that it took ten years to design and build the new runway, which officially opened last July.
“Thanks to the new runway, we expected a massive influx of tourists from all over the world. Instead we received a missile strike.”
But Odessa is not a city subject to difficulties. We will completely restore the stands after our victory and more tourists will come to us.”
The Russian military has yet to confirm the attack.
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(David Longren reports). Editing by Daniel Wallis and Chris Reese
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