Greek government sources said neither Mitsotakis nor any of his delegation were injured.
A projectile fell a few meters from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during an attack with Russian drones while both were touring the Ukrainian city of Odessa this Wednesday. The incident left at least five people dead, while the leaders were unharmed.
“We heard the sound of sirens and there were explosions that occurred very close to us. We did not have time to go to a shelter,” said Mitsotakis, shocked by what he experienced, in a joint press conference with Zelensky.
“This level of brutality, of which peaceful citizens are victims, causes great sadness and indignation. When I traveled through Odessa, I was amazed because, on the one hand, there is the terrible image of the destruction caused by Russia and, on the other, there is the indomitability and courage of the Ukrainian people,” Mitsotakis emphasized. “We understand that this war affects everyone and spares no one,” he added.
Greek government sources said neither Mitsotakis nor any of his delegation were injured. Immediately after the explosions occurred, the Greek convoy deviated from its predetermined route, following the instructions of the Ukrainian authorities, SKAI said.
The Greek Prime Minister traveled to the main Ukrainian seaport to strengthen cooperation between Greece and Ukraine in various fields. One of the issues he discussed with Zelensky was the expansion of the corridor for civilian ships that Ukraine managed to open in the Black Sea last fall after regaining control of part of its territorial waters.
According to the Black Sea Institute for Strategic Affairs, Greece and Turkey are the countries in which the largest number of ships transiting through that corridor are registered, with which Ukraine managed to recover the level of maritime grain exports it had before the war.
Zelensky also spoke out about the Russian attack. “We saw today’s attack. You can see who we are dealing with, they don’t care where they hit, military or civilians… I know there were victims today, I still don’t know the details but I know there are dead and wounded,” the president said about the attack. explosion that occurred just about 150 meters from the convoy of cars in which both leaders were traveling.
The spokesman for the Ukrainian Naval Force, Dimitro Pletenchuk, indicated that five people have died so far due to the Russian drone attack. Over the weekend, 12 people died, including 5 children, in a similar attack against the city.
Zelensky added at the press conference that with this type of attacks, Moscow seeks to cause constant terror among Ukrainians. “Practically the majority of Russia’s targets are civilians, houses, churches, schools, universities. All of this needs to be restored,” said the president, who thanked the willingness shown by Greece to help in the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure.
For its part, the Kremlin claimed responsibility for the bombing. “Today at 11:40 Moscow time, the Russian Armed Forces launched a high-precision missile attack against a shed in the port industrial zone of Odessa, where naval drones of the Ukrainian Army were being prepared,” noted in a publication on Telegram the Russian Ministry of Defense, which stressed that the target of the attack was hit and destroyed.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attack. “I strongly condemn Russia’s vile attack in Odessa during the visit of Zelensky and Mitsotakis. No one feels intimidated by this new attempt at terrorism, certainly not the two leaders on the ground, nor the brave people of Ukraine,” said in a statement on the social network X. “More than ever, we support Ukraine,” she highlighted.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, also assured on social networks that the European Union strongly supports Ukraine and that the attack is “another sign of Russia’s cowardly tactics, which is even below the manual of the Kremlin”.
The high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell, stated that “Russia must end the terror against the civilian population of Ukraine”.
The attack in Odessa came a day after Ukrainian troops celebrated destroying a Russian warship near the Crimean Peninsula.
In recent months, Ukraine has reinforced its commitment to asymmetric warfare tactics with which it is hitting Russia in the air and the sea to compensate for the superiority of the Kremlin’s forces on the front, which are gaining ground in several areas of the front, taking advantage of the artillery ammunition deficit that Kyiv suffers due to delays in Western military aid.
