Russians fired at Serhiivka missile designed to destroy aircraft carriers - Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russian forces fired an anti-ship cruise missile at a residential building in the resort village of Serhiivka, Odesa region, and the strike was targeted.

The head of state said this at a joint briefing with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Kyiv on Friday, July 1, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Today, the Russian army launched another brutal missile attack. A Russian missile was a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile, by the way. It hit an ordinary residential building in the Odesa region, in the village of Serhiivka. Such Kh-22 missiles were created to hit aircraft carriers and other large warships, but the Russian army used them against an ordinary nine-story building with ordinary civilians," Zelensky said.

He emphasized that this was not a single and accidental strike.

"This was a targeted Russian missile attack, Russian terror against our cities, villages, our people - adults and children. They [the Russians] don't care," Zelensky said.

In general, according to him, Russia used about 3,000 missiles against Ukraine since it started its all-out invasion of the country in late February.

"Such brutal Russian actions only underline how correct are the decisions of our partners in terms of providing support to Ukraine, first of all, defensive support," Zelensky said.

In the early hours of July 1, the Russian army attacked the village of Serhiivka, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district, Odesa region. The missiles hit a nine-story residential building and a recreation center. So far, the death toll has reached 21 people.

July 2 was declared a day of mourning in the Odesa region.