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According to Ukrainian sources, at least 17 people died on Friday night when a Russian missile hit an apartment building near Odessa.
The shelling came shortly after Ukraine initially reported a success on Thursday: the withdrawal of the Russian army from the symbolic Snake Island off the coast of Odessa.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine: »Snake Island is a strategically important place. It significantly changes the situation in the Black Sea. That is still no guarantee of safety. It still doesn't guarantee that the enemy won't come back. But it significantly limits the actions of the occupiers. Step by step we will push them back from our sea, our land and our sky.«
However, Putin's troops are currently gaining ground.
Separatists supported by Russia allowed journalists into Sievjerodonetsk, which has since been conquered.
A team from the Reuters agency filmed these images.
The people there are happy about the end of the hostilities.
But almost the entire infrastructure of the city was destroyed.
There has been no water, gas or electricity here since May.
Sergei Olejnyk, resident of Sieverodonetsk: »We have to cook our food on fires near our houses. Most people live in basements. We'll be glad when this is over. Perhaps the reconstruction will start soon and we will be able to lead a more or less normal life again.«
However, fighting is still going on very close by: Lyssychansk, the twin city of Sievjerodonetsk, is about to be encircled by Russian troops.
