Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were visiting the Black Sea port of Odesa when a Russian missile hit the infrastructure, close enough for leaders to see the strike.
“It seems to me that we have not only heard, we have seen this strike today,” Zelenskiy told a joint press conference.
The attack occurred at an estimated 500 to 800 metre distance from the delegations on Wednesday, sources said.
“You see who we’re dealing with, they don’t care where to hit,” Zelenskiy said.
The Ukrainian air force announced a ballistic missile threat in the region this morning but there were no official reports up until the press conference after leaders inspected the port and Ukraine’s humanitarian corridor for maritime exports.
The strike killed five people, a Ukrainian navy spokesperson said.
Mitsotakis, who was on his first visit to the country since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, said that during the tour the delegation heard sirens and a big explosion as they headed towards their cars.
“I believe that this is for us the most vivid reminder that there is a real war waging here,” Mitsotakis said, urging other European leaders to visit Ukraine to get a first-hand sense of the war’s impact on civilians.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its troops attacked a hangar housing Ukrainian naval drones in the port, adding that “the goal has been achieved”.
Ukraine’s Black Sea port infrastructure has been a constant target for Russian attacks, which have stepped up since mid-July when Moscow quit a UN-brokered deal that allowed safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments and Kyiv established its own export corridor.
Russia has launched over 880 attack drones and over 170 missiles on Odesa region port infrastructure since, a Ukrainian navy commander said during the tour.
Greece, a NATO member and a traditional ally to Ukraine’s bid to join the military alliance and the European Union, has offered military help to the country. On Wednesday’s visit, Mitsotakis confirmed Greece’s continued support.
“My presence here reflects the respect of the entire free world for your people and underlines Greece’s commitment to remain by your side,” he told Zelenskiy.
According to AMNA, he also underlined Greece’s interest in contributing to the rebuilding of Ukraine, especially of Odesa, with the city carrying a particular importance for Greece due to its history and culture.
Mitsotakis added that Greece would participate in a high-level Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland.
The two leaders also reviewed other sectors of collaboration, including energy and Greece’s role as a supply corridor to Europe and the Balkans.
Both then visited a residential building – the site of Russian drone attack on Saturday that killed 12 people, including five children.
The Greek PM also laid a wreath at the monument of the museum of the Filiki Eteria, a secret organisation who worked towards Greece’s liberation from Ottoman rule.
At the museum, he had the opportunity to talk with Greeks of the diaspora and Ukrainian’s of Greek descent who welcomed him at the museum’s courtyard.
“I wanted to visit Odesa in particular,” he said.
“We stand by you, we support Ukraine, but we also support you in the struggle to preserve your Greek roots.
“I am very moved for the opportunity you gave me to meet you and I believe we are all shocked by the tragedy, particularly of the Greek community of Mariupol.
“We want to do whatever we can to leave those hard times behind and look at the future with more optimism.”
Mariupol, a city under Russian control in south-east Ukraine, was besieged by troops in February 2022 and endured 80 days of bombardment.
*With AMNA and AAP via Reuters.