Russian troops have been accused of targeting the motorcade of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he was visiting the Black Sea port city of Odesa, in southern Ukraine, alongside a NATO member leader.
The missile strike occurred as Mr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis were heading towards their cars after visiting a residential hit by a deadly drone strike launched by Russia on Saturday.
Today’s Russian attack was launched less than 500 feet away from the Greek Prime Minister’s car.
Greek State Minister Stavros Papastavrou stressed in the immediate aftermath of the attack, believed to have been carried out by a ballistic missile, that no member of the Greek mission he was part of experienced any issues or injuries. Defiantly, he added: “We are all fine.”
Mr Zelensky was also unharmed, and he carried out the scheduled meeting with Mr Mitsotakis as planned.
One key change to the programme was noticed after their talks behind closed doors, with their meeting not broadcast live for security reasons.
In his first trip to Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion of the country launched in February 2022, the leader of Greece – a NATO country – told Mr Zelensky: “My presence here reflects the respect of the entire free world for your people and underlines Greece’s commitment to remain by your side.”
The strike was condemned by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who wrote on the social media platform X: “I strongly condemn the vile attack on Odesa by Russia during Zelensky and Mitsotakis’s visit.
“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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