Medic among 16 killed in Odesa missile strikes

A Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa has killed at least 16 people and left another 55 wounded, the regional governor has said.

Among those killed and wounded were emergency medical teams.

Ukrainian officials said the first Russian missile hit homes and civilian infrastructure, and when emergency teams rushed to the scene another missile struck the same spot.

Russia has not commented on the attack.

A military spokesman said the missiles were fired from the Crimea region, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Odesa's regional governor Oleh Kiper said a medic and a rescuer were among those killed when the second missile struck.

Odesa is an important port on the Black Sea, although it is not clear what Russia was aiming at. Saturday has been declared a day of mourning.

The bombardments struck residential buildings, cars and a gas pipeline, according to local authorities quoted by AFP news agency.

"Russia continues to terrorise Odesa... local residents, medical and emergency workers are among the victims and injured," Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said according to the Reuters news agency.

It is not the first attack launched on the city in recent weeks with explosions rocking Odesa while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis there earlier this month.