The city of Odesa in southern Ukraine was hit by a Russian air attack on Sunday, resulting in one death and nearly 20 injuries. The attack also caused significant damage to an Orthodox cathedral, with parts of the building destroyed and the floors covered in rubble.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba issued a strong condemnation of Russia's attack on a cathedral in Odessa, claiming that Russia has been systematically destroying the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, along with its premises.

"We will raise this at the next UNSC [United… pic.twitter.com/dUD3OfaU0C

— Yasmina (@yasminalombaert) July 23, 2023

The cathedral, known as the Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral, is Odesa's largest church building and is located in the historic city center, a UNESCO world heritage site. The attack also targeted residential areas, destroying six houses and apartment buildings.

Ukrainian officials reported that the attack on the cathedral started a fire, which affected one corner of the building that housed non-historic religious artifacts. The cathedral's archdeacon, Andriy Palchuk, stated that a missile piece flew through the entire cathedral, causing damage to the area where icons, candles, and books for purchase were displayed.

This is not the first time Odesa has been targeted by Russian attacks, with missiles and drones being launched at the city multiple times in recent days. The Russian Ministry of Defense denied targeting the cathedral and instead claimed that a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile was responsible for the damage.

The ministry stated that it had struck targets in the Odesa area where terrorist attacks were being prepared, asserting that all targets had been destroyed. However, Ukrainian military sources countered these claims, stating that the missile attacks were carried out by Russia using high-precision Onyx missiles and sea-to-shore Kalibr cruise missiles.

President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack on Odesa and vowed retaliation, stating that there can be no excuse for Russian aggression. Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, also expressed condemnation, offering assistance in the reconstruction of the damaged cathedral.

The Russian attacks on Odesa are believed to be in retaliation for a Ukrainian strike on a Russian-built bridge to Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. Russia has accused Ukraine of using the sea corridor to launch terrorist attacks.

The cathedral that was hit in the attack belongs to the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the country's second-largest Church. The UOC has been accused by Ukraine of maintaining links to the pro-invasion Russian Orthodox Church, with whom they claim to have severed ties following the Russian invasion in 2020.

The ongoing attacks on Odesa and other Ukrainian food export facilities have raised concerns, as Russia has reportedly modified its air attack tactics to use a combination of weapons in a swarm manner, making it more difficult to defend against.