Russia kills seven civilians, injures 15 in ballistic missile strike on Odesa port
“According to preliminary information, unfortunately, seven people died. Another fifteen sustained injuries and were hospitalized,” he stated.
According to Kiper, a fire broke out after the strike – trucks caught fire in a parking lot. All the wounded have been hospitalized, and doctors are providing the necessary medical assistance.
The work of operational and emergency services is complicated due to the ongoing air raid alert.
Previously, ZMINA reported that as a result of shelling by the Russian military during the day of December 18, 2025, four people died in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions, and more than two dozen sustained injuries in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, according to the National Police of Ukraine.
To provide background, earlier Ukrainian experts pointed out that after aligning its position with Russia, there is increasing pressure on Ukraine from the security guarantor under the Budapest Memorandum — the United States of America — to violate international law and the Constitution of Ukraine, ceding Ukrainian territories as part of a plan that U.S. President Donald Trump calls a “peace plan.”
Earlier, a group of Republican U.S. senators has urged Donald Trump to confiscate Russian assets frozen in the United States and direct them toward assistance for Ukraine.
In the letter, signed by Republican Sens. Jim Risch, Roger Wicker, John Kennedy, and Rick Scott urged U.S. President to use the authorities granted to him under the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act and, in coordination with the G7 and European allies, to transfer to Ukraine the full amount of Russian sovereign assets that are frozen or immobilized in the United States.
They argue that such a move would help unlock a decision on the use of $162 billion of immobilized Russian sovereign assets in the European Union.
Financial Times reported that the UK government said that London will not unilaterally use frozen Russian assets in Britain to help Kyiv, as the UK had planned to do so only jointly with Australia, Canada, and the EU.
“We will not act without international partners,” a British government spokesperson said, adding that Britain “will continue to work closely with the G7 and EU on financing for Ukraine.”
British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves separately stated that the UK will “immediately” work with partners to provide Kyiv with the necessary funding.
Stay connected via X and LinkedIn with ZMINA – and help build this platform with us by filling out our anonymous 5-minute survey here.
