A Russian attack on Odesa killed two women and a man and hit a warehouse storing food for the city’s kindergartens and schools, setting it on fire, Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said on 9 November. A woman was hospitalized in serious condition, and two men aged 41 and 46 later sought medical help, bringing the number of injured to three, he added in a later update.

The strike came a day before US-mediated talks between Ukraine and Russia open in Abu Dhabi, the first trilateral round since February. In the run-up, Russia has been returning to the same civilian supply sites in Odesa Oblast. This appears to fit what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called an effort to squeeze Ukraine before the talks.

Russia keeps returning to the same targets in Odesa Oblast

The attack on the city began in the morning, according to Odesa City Military Administration Head Serhii Lysak, who reported the three deaths. Shortly before, Ukraine’s Air Force had warned of a jet-powered drone heading for Odesa from the north. Officials have not said what weapon hit the warehouse.

The same day, a logistics company in Odesa Oblast was hit for the third time, damaging its equipment, and no one was hurt, according to preliminary information, Kiper said. He did not name the company or say where it is.

A day earlier, Russian forces struck an Odesa food warehouse they had already attacked before, starting a large fire, Kiper noted on 8 November.

Meanwhile, the attacks went on into the afternoon. A two-story house in Odesa Oblast caught fire after another strike, and rescuers saved two people, Kiper reported. Later, another attack on Odesa damaged the windows and roofs of several houses and lightly injured a man, Lysak said.