Ukraine’s Most Vital Port City Rocked By Russian Missile Attack

The key and strategic southern port city of Odessa has throughout the nearly three-year long war with Russia remained in Ukrainian hands. This has been one of the country’s sole large shipping lifelines on the Black Sea and to the outside world.

This means that if Russia ever sought to besiege or take the city and its vital large port, the proverbial writing would immediately be on the wall for Kiev, as it would face devastating economic blockade. Throughout the conflict, Moscow has sporadically attacked Odessa, apparently reserving such strikes as severe punishment in response to growing missile and drone attacks on Russian territory.

This has happened again Friday evening, as a large Russian missile attack hit the center of the southern Ukrainian city, wounding at least seven people. Several historic buildings at the city center were also damaged. Such large-scale attacks on Odessa remain rare.

“Currently, seven people are known to have been injured in the attack by Russian terrorists on the historical center of Odesa,” the regional Governor Oleh Kiper stated, revealing that all are in “moderate” condition in area hospitals.

“There is a lot of damage and destruction in the UNESCO-protected area,” the city’s mayor also noted. ”As a result of the explosions, a number of historical monuments, including the Literary, Historical and Local Lore, Archaeological Museums, Museum of Western and Eastern Art, and the Philharmonic, have had their windows smashed and their facades damaged.”

Surprisingly and thankfully, the large missile barrage resulted in no deaths. However, Norwegian diplomats may have been among the injured in the city.

“Among the people who were at the epicenter of the attack were Norwegian diplomatic representatives,” President Zelensky said, condemning what he called ”absolutely deliberate attack by Russian terrorists.”

Russian military bloggers have meanwhile suggested that foreign military specialists were staying in the hotel, and that the strikes were primarily targeting these foreign entities. They are alleging that Norwegian military advisors were among them.

During the spring of last year, Elon Musk featured Odessa while commenting on what’s at stake for Ukraine, and why Kiev must quickly enter negotiations to salvage peace.

“There is no chance of Russia taking all of Ukraine, as the local resistance would be extreme in the west, but Russia will certainly gain more land than they have today,” Musk wrote on X last March.

“The longer the war goes on, the more territory Russia will gain until they hit the Dnepr, which is tough to overcome. However, if the war lasts long enough, Odessa will fall too,” the billionaire SpaceX founder continued.

He concluded, “Whether Ukraine loses all access to the Black Sea or not is, in my view, the real remaining question. I recommend a negotiated settlement before that happens.”

MASSIVE RUSSIAN STRIKES ON ODESSA TONIGHT. pic.twitter.com/ulFzqyaYkn

— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) January 31, 2025

And all of this remains truer than ever today, especially as Kiev comes under new pressure to get serious about talks by the new Trump administration.