Ukraine-Russia war latest: 'Huge fire breaks out' in port city after missile strike; Russia 'shifting battlefield focus'

As we reported earlier, tonight's missile attack on Odesa is the third reportedly carried out by Russian forces since Monday.

The city, particularly its port infrastructure, has been a frequent target of Moscow's during the war.

Monday

On 29 April, a Russian missile struck an educational institution in a seafront park in the port city, killing at least five people and injuring 32 others.

Among the wounded were eight people in a serious condition, including a four-year-old child, regional governor Oleh Kiper said. A pregnant woman was also hurt.

He said that in addition to those killed in the attack, a man later died after suffering a stroke related to the strike.

Footage showed the roof of the ornate building destroyed by fire.

Tuesday

Mr Kiper said another Russian missile attacked killed three people and injured three others in Odesa overnight on Tuesday.

He said the strike was carried out by a ballistic missile but didn't provide further details.

The attack also damaged civilian infrastructure, he said.

Regional governor Oleg Kiper reports that an air alarm is sounding in Odesa after this evening's missile strike.

He urged residents in the city and wider region to stay safe in a post to Telegram.

Nova Poshta, a Ukrainian postal and courier company, has confirmed its warehouse has been struck in Odesa.

The firm said none of its employees were injured or dead.

It added that customers would be compensated for parcels destroyed in the strike, which local officials say was carried out by Russia.

There are at least 13 victims as a result of a reported Russian missile strike on Odesa this evening, according to regional governor Oleg Kiper.

He did not specify if the victims had been killed or were injured.

In a Telegram post, Mr Kiper reported a "powerful fire at the point of impact".

Ballistic missiles were used to target the city, he said.

A large fire has erupted in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa after a missile strike, according to local media reports.

Unverified images circulating on social media show flames at the site of the reported strike and large plumes of smoke billowing towards the sky.

It comes after a Russian attack on an educational institution in the city on Monday that killed at least five people and injured 32 others.

Three people were killed in a separate missile attack in Odesa overnight last night.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has formally dismissed the head of the Ukrainian security service's cybersecurity department after a media probe into his finances.

A decree issued on on his presidential website today shows Illia Vitiuk has been officially removed from the post.

Mr Vitiuk had already been suspended after an investigation by a journalist at independent outlet Slidstvo.info which raised questions over the property holdings of his wife and the source of the couples' wealth.

The journalist was later targeted by enlistment officers in a "revenge" move, the outlet reported.

Washington has accused Moscow of violating an international treaty by using a First World War-era chemical weapon in Ukraine.

The state department said Russia has deployed the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops and used riot control agents "as a method of warfare".

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, chloropicrin is an irritant "with characteristics of a tear gas".

It was used by Germany against allied troops during the First World War but has since been banned for military use.

"The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and is probably driven by Russian forces' desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield," the state department said in a statement. 

The Russian embassy didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

In Ukraine's partially occupied Donetsk region, troops continue to fight back against Russian forces on the frontline.

Moscow is heavily focusing on the eastern region, where it claims to have captured several towns and villages.

In these pictures, Ukrainian soldiers fire a howitzer at Russian positions.

The US has imposed new sanctions on three people connected to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Mr Navalny died at a remote Arctic prison in February in unknown circumstances.

Russian authorities say he died of natural causes while his supporters believe he was killed. Western leaders quickly held Vladimir Putin responsible - but a US intelligence report earlier this week found the Russian president likely didn't directly order Mr Navalny's death.

The three individuals are among hundreds of people and entities targeted in Washington's new round of Russia-related sanctions.

A notice on the treasury's website said companies connected to Russia's Arctic liquefied natural gas 2 project were among those hit with sanctions.

Restrictions have also been slapped on Russian air carrier Pobeda, a subsidiary of the country's largest airline Aeroflot.

Ukrainian ground troops have been handed 20 new Toyota pickup trucks through funds allocated to one of the military's brigades.

Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said 60 million hryvnias (£1.2m) has been set aside by the capital for the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Ground Forces.

The trucks were purchased for half of this amount, he said.

Thanking Kyiv for the donation, Major Maksym Zhorin, deputy commander of the third brigade, said the vehicles were "extremely important" as they are used for evacuating soldiers, deliveries and some logistics tasks.