A Russian missile exploded near the motorcade carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Odesa Wednesday. The missile impacted less than 500 meters (estimates vary) from the two men and killed at least five people, and wounded many more. ABC News says the explosion was only 100 meters, which, if true, placed them both within the casualty radius of the warhead. According to reports, the motorcade felt the shockwave of the explosion.
Ironically, Prime Minister Mitsotakis was in Odesa to pay tribute to the twelve civilians killed by Russia last week when an apartment building was attacked and to visit the cathedral that Russian missiles have heavily damaged.
This video is Zelensky and Mitsotakis at the remembrance of the Russian slaughter of Ukrainian civilians earlier in the week.
This missile is believed to be an Iskander-M ballistic missile.
At Zelensky and Mitsotakis' joint meeting, Zelensky commented on the missile attack.
“They have either lost their minds, or they don’t have complete control over what their terrorist army is doing.”
Indeed, lobbing a ballistic missile into a city where a foreign head of government is visiting is the height of recklessness or indiscipline but totally on brand for the Russian Army.
Russia claims it was engaging in “a high-precision missile strike on a hangar in the industrial port area of Odesa where preparations were being made for the combat use of unmanned boats of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” Precision, I suppose, is entirely in the eye of the beholder.
There is a lot of speculation on whether this was an overt assassination attempt by Russia or if it was a warning to Greece over its increasingly close relationship with Ukraine. Mitsotakis attending ceremonies to commemorate Russian atrocities is much more significant than a "meet and greet" in Kiev. I don't think sane people believe a ballistic missile hit that close to the presidential motorcade while targeting a military facility.