Russian overnight strikes kill four in Odesa region: governor

Russian strikes overnight on the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa killed four people, including a teenage girl, and wounded 10 more, the regional governor said Friday.

Russia has targeted Ukraine's coastal Odesa region throughout the war, hitting cargo ships and grain silos in what Kyiv says is an attempt to destroy its export capacity.

"The enemy attacked the Odesa region with ballistic missiles. Four people were killed, including a teenager," the regional governor Oleg Kiper wrote on social media.

He said a two-storey building had been destroyed in the attack and that the victims included a 43-year-old woman, a 22-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl.

"Another woman died in hospital from her injuries," Kiper said, adding that 10 people had been wounded.

Video from the scene of the attack distributed by first responders showed emergency workers retrieving bodies from the rubble of the destroyed building by lamplight.

Russian forces have stepped up attacks on southern Ukraine recently, including strikes that have damaged civilian vessels at Odesa region ports.

Ukraine was one of the largest exporters of grain in the world before Russia's invasion in February 2022, but repeated attacks on its port and storage facilities have severely curbed its output.

Eight people were killed in an attack on Wednesday this week, the latest in a string that the European Union described as a "blatant violation of international law."