Another barrage of Russian Missile Strikes on Odessa killed one person and damaged a historic cathedral, marking another devastating chapter in the ongoing conflict. In the early hours of Sunday, rockets fell on the southern Ukrainian city, injuring 22 people, including several children. One of the targets was the Transfiguration Cathedral, a late-nineteenth-century architectural marvel that was destroyed during the reign of Joseph Stalin and later rebuilt in the early 2000s.

According to The Guardian, the recent wave of attacks followed Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain initiative last Monday, a critical deal that allowed Ukrainian grain to be shipped around the world through the port of Odessa. In response to the withdrawal, Russia launched a week-long campaign of non-stop attacks on the port city, pledging to demolish Ukraine’s Black Sea port infrastructure and treat all ships bound for Odessa as combatants and legitimate targets, it added.

The Ukrainian military said Russia used several missiles, including Iskander, Kalibr, Onix and others, in Sunday’s attacks, the report said. While some missiles were intercepted by air defense systems, others managed to breach the city’s defenses, with tragic consequences.

Odessa regional governor Oleh Kiper stated that six residential buildings were damaged or destroyed during the morning strikes on Sunday, highlighting the devastation of civilian life and infrastructure.

Commenting on the situation on Facebook, Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council, said the Russian Missile Strikes on Odessa and the surrounding region were intended to impede Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea and to intimidate and thwart international efforts to restore the vital grain operation.

“The main purpose of the Russian Missile strikes on Odessa and the region is an attempt to close off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea and to use intimidation to prevent and neutralize international efforts to restore the functioning of the grain corridor,” Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the Ukrainian Security Council, wrote on Facebook.