Ukraine war: Odesa’s 'Harry Potter Castle' hit in Russian missile attack

A building of the Odessa Law Academy is on fire after a Russian missile attack in Odessa, Ukraine, April 29, 2024

At least four people have been killed in a Russian missile strike that hit a Gothic-style building in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa.

Known to locals as the “Harry Potter Castle”, its turrets were still burning at nightfall and emergency services graded the blaze severe.

Residents reportedly did not have enough time to take shelter as air raid alerts only happened a few minutes before the strike.

“The type of missile is currently being checked; forensic specialists are carrying out the appropriate evaluations to this end,” said a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces, Dmytro Pletenchuk.

“All services, including the State Emergency Service, are currently working to eliminate the consequences of the missile strike – yet another war crime.”

Support on its way, vows NATO chief

Visiting the capital Kyiv earlier on Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance’s members had failed to deliver what they promised to Ukraine in good time, allowing Russia to exploit battlefield advantages.

But he did tell Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy that “support is on the way”.

Those comments come as Ukrainian forces struggle against Russia on the battlefield, with commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi saying the situation on the frontline had worsened and that his forces had withdrawn from some positions in the Donetsk region.

Meanwhile, at a gathering of the 27th International Meeting of Mine Action in Geneva, officials outlined the challenges civilians living in conflict or post-conflict environments face.

“In Ukraine, because of the nature and the intensity of the conflict, we’re often seeing double or triple or even quadruple amputees, and a lot of the those injured are in their 20s and 30s,” said Paul Heslop, the Programme Manager for Mine Action at UNDP Ukraine.

The UN says around 60 million people in 60 countries live from one day to the next unsure if they will step on a landmine or unexploded ordnance left over from a conflict.