By Lacity
A Russian missile exploded just 500 meters from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during an attack in Odesa on March 6, CNN reported, citing a source.
Neither Zelenskyy nor Mitsotakis was injured.
Zelenskyy often makes risky trips to the front line and has welcomed dozens of world leaders to Ukraine in more than two years of war with Russia, but this attack could be one of the president’s closest challenges yet, CNN writes.
The proximity of the attack to Mitsotakis, the leader of a NATO member state, also demonstrates the danger of such visits and the potential global consequences of the conflict.
Russia attacked Odesa’s port infrastructure on March 6, killing five people, said Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk.
Greek news outlet Protothema claimed the attack targeted Zelenskyy’s motorcade, noting that the motorcade was 150 meters away from the Greek delegation led by PM Mitsotakis.
The publication clarified that Zelenskyy’s motorcade was 150 meters away from the Greek delegation led by the premier, with the missile landing at 11:43 a.m.
The Ukrainian military later said it had no vidence to suggest that Russian forces were trying to hit Zelenskyy’s motorcade in the strike.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he witnessed the Russian morning missile attack on Odesa.
Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had a telephone conversation with Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias.
The ballistic missile strike on Odesa occurred at around 10:45 a.m. on March 6, killing five people. It coincided with the visit of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the city, where he met with President Zelenskyy ahead of a joint press briefing.
