Russian missiles strike residential building in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, killing at least 18 people: officials

Russian missiles killed at least 18 people, including two children, in a coastal town near the Ukrainian port city of Odesa early Friday.

The charred remains of buildings in the small town of Serhiivka were shown in the video. Missiles were reported to have hit a multi-story apartment building and a resort area.

Kirill Tymoshenko is the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office. The spokesman for the Odesa regional government said on Telegram that another 30 people had been injured.

Ukrainian emergency officials said that 16 people died in the strike on the apartment building.

The pullout of Russian forces from Snake Island was expected to make the threat to Odesa less serious. There is a busy shipping lane. Russia hoped to use it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa.

The Russian pullout from Snake Island was portrayed by the Kremlin as a good gesture. The number of troops that were leaving was not revealed.

Russian bombardments killed a lot of people. As Moscow captured eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, there were less mass casualties.

At least 19 people were killed and 62 were injured in a missile strike on a shopping mall in central Ukraine.