Drone attack on Odesa injures several – DW – 12/14/2023

European Union leaders are heading into a high-stakes summit over Ukraine on Thursday, with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocking both the start of EU membership talks and €50 billion ($54 billion) in financial aid for Kyiv.

The summit comes at a crucial time in Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion, after a counteroffensive failed to make significant gains and with the Biden administration so far unable to secure a $60 billion aid package for Kyiv has been unable to get through Congress.

If EU leaders give the green light to membership talks and the four-year financial package, Kyiv will be able to claim a geopolitical victory. Failure to agree would likely be seen in Moscow as a sign ofwavering Western support for Ukraine.

All of the EU’s 27 national leaders, with the exception of Orban, have backed the opening of membership talks. But such a decision requires unanimity, and the Hungarian leader, who has close ties to Moscow, has insisted that Ukraine is not ready for such a step.

A drone attack on Ukraine’s southern Odesa region injured 11 people, including three children, emergency services said.

Writing on Facebook, the services said the attack had set ablaze a car and an industrial site. Eleven buildings sustained damage.

Five people were taken to hospital for treatment. There was no indication where the attack had taken place in the region.

Video posted on the emergency services Facebook site showed rescue teams climbing up ladders to the top stories of buildings and shifting rubble on the ground. One rescue worker was cradling a baby.

Ukraine’s Odesa region is frequently targeted by Russian drones and rockets.

dh/wd (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)