https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/06/russia-ukraine-zelensky-missile-...Russian missile strike hits near Zelensky motorcade in Odessa
By Isabelle Khurshudyan
Updated March 6, 2024 at 12:12 p.m.
KYIV — A Russian missile strike appeared to target Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, landing near his motorcade in the Black Sea port city of Odessa, where the president was meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Zelensky and members of the Greek delegation were not harmed, despite the missile landing some 500 feet away, Greek officials told the Protothema news outlet. The Ukrainian presidential office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Foreign leaders have made frequent trips to Ukraine throughout the country’s two years of war with Russia, and this isn’t the first time there has been a strike on a city at the same time as one’s visit. But Wednesday’s incident stood out for how close the missile strike was to both Zelensky and Mitsotakis — what some Western leaders condemned as a new low for Moscow, which has committed thousands of atrocities against civilians throughout its invasion.
European Council President Charles Michel wrote on X that the attack was “another sign of Russia’s cowardly tactics in its war of aggression against Ukraine.”
“This is reprehensible and below even the Kremlin’s playbook,” Michel added.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said on X: “No one is intimidated by this new attempt at terror — certainly not the two leaders on the ground nor the brave people of Ukraine. More than ever, we stand by Ukraine.”
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Zelensky and Mitsotakis were visiting the Odessa port when, about 10:40 a.m., air raid sirens were heard. The explosion then occurred within minutes.
“We witnessed the strike today,” Zelensky told reporters afterward. “You see who we’re dealing with; they don’t care where to hit. I know there were casualties today; I don’t know all the details yet, but I know there are casualties.”