Zelensky, Greek PM narrowly escape Russian missile attack, 5 killed

A Russian missile that killed five people in Odesa on Wednesday narrowly missed the convoy carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The missile landed within a third of a mile from the convoy, and the group felt the impact and saw a “mushroom cloud” of smoke rising from the site.

“We saw this strike today. You can see who we are dealing with, they don’t care where they strike,” Zelensky later commented from the Black Sea port town, reports CNN.

“I know that there were victims today, I don’t know all the details yet, but I know that there are dead and wounded,” he continued, adding, “We need to defend ourselves first and foremost.

“The best way to do that is with an air defense system,” Zelensky insisted.

Five people were killed and several others wounded in the strike, Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk later told the media.

“Shortly after, as we were getting into our cars, we heard a big explosion,” Mitsotakis told reporters.

“I think that for us is the best, most vivid reminder that there is a real war going on here. Every day there is a war, which not only affects the front, the soldiers, it affects our innocent fellow citizens,” he said.

The prime minister added that Zelensky gave him a tour of Odesa — which has been seriously damaged by an onslaught of Russian missiles over the past two years — just before they heard the air raid siren.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the strike took place around 11:40am Moscow time.