KYIV: The toll from a Russian ballistic missile strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region rose to seven dead and 10 wounded, authorities said Thursday.
The attack on Wednesday struck a civilian container ship flying the flag of Panama, according to the region’s governor Oleg Kiper.
“Unfortunately, the death toll as a result of yesterday’s Russian missile attack has risen to seven,” Kiper wrote on social media Thursday.
“This morning, a 46-year-old port worker died in hospital. Medics did their best but his injuries were too severe,” he added.
Kiper had earlier said that the attack on the Black Sea port city was the third on a civilian vessel in four days.
Russia has targeted Ukraine’s coastal Odesa region throughout the war, hitting boats and grain silos in what Kyiv says is an illegal attempt to destroy its export capacity.
Ukraine was one of the largest exporters of grain in the world before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, but repeated attacks on its port and storage facilities have severely curbed its output.
The attack comes two days after a Russian missile hit a Palau-flagged ship in the port of Odesa, killing one person aboard, according to local authorities.
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Toll from Russian strike on Odesa rises to seven
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Toll from Russian strike on Odesa rises to seven
- Russia has targeted Ukraine’s coastal Odesa region throughout the war, hitting boats and grain silos
- Ukraine was one of the largest exporters of grain in the world before Russia’s invasion in February 2022
Banner of Donald Trump unfurled at Justice Department headquarters
WASHINGTON: A banner of US President Donald Trump has been unfurled outside the headquarters of the Justice Department in the latest effort to stamp his identity on a Washington institution.
The blue banner unfurled on Thursday between two columns in a corner of the agency’s headquarters includes the slogan: “Make America Safe Again.”
Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has moved aggressively to imprint his image and influence on federal institutions.
He has reshaped cultural and policy bodies by installing loyalists, renamed prominent institutions, and sidelined officials linked to past probes, steps critics say blur the lines between political power and traditionally independent government functions.
Banners bearing Trump’s image were affixed last year to the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture and the US Institute for Peace buildings.
A board of directors appointed by the president voted in December to add Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Trump’s name was also affixed last year to the US Institute of Peace building in Washington.
The White House referred questions about the latest banner to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement cited by NBC News, a DOJ spokesperson said the department was “proud” to celebrate its “historic work to make America safe again at President Trump’s direction.”
In 2023, former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith secured indictments accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents following his first term in office and of plotting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
Trump falsely claimed that he won the 2020 election. His supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Congress from certifying the results of that election. After taking office for a second time in January 2025, Trump pardoned the rioters.
Trump denied wrongdoing in the cases against him, calling them politically motivated. Smith dropped both cases against the Republican after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Smith resigned from the Justice Department days before Trump returned to the White House early last year.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department has since targeted and fired many officials involved in probes against the Republican leader.
The blue banner unfurled on Thursday between two columns in a corner of the agency’s headquarters includes the slogan: “Make America Safe Again.”
Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has moved aggressively to imprint his image and influence on federal institutions.
He has reshaped cultural and policy bodies by installing loyalists, renamed prominent institutions, and sidelined officials linked to past probes, steps critics say blur the lines between political power and traditionally independent government functions.
Banners bearing Trump’s image were affixed last year to the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture and the US Institute for Peace buildings.
A board of directors appointed by the president voted in December to add Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Trump’s name was also affixed last year to the US Institute of Peace building in Washington.
The White House referred questions about the latest banner to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement cited by NBC News, a DOJ spokesperson said the department was “proud” to celebrate its “historic work to make America safe again at President Trump’s direction.”
In 2023, former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith secured indictments accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents following his first term in office and of plotting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
Trump falsely claimed that he won the 2020 election. His supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Congress from certifying the results of that election. After taking office for a second time in January 2025, Trump pardoned the rioters.
Trump denied wrongdoing in the cases against him, calling them politically motivated. Smith dropped both cases against the Republican after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Smith resigned from the Justice Department days before Trump returned to the White House early last year.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department has since targeted and fired many officials involved in probes against the Republican leader.
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