FIVE people died and more than 30 were injured in a Russian attack with cluster munitions on a private law academy in Ukraine.
A shocking video showed explosions and clouds of smoke in the port of Odesa, followed by raging flames in the city.Harry Potter Castle”.
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The Russian missile attack on the popular seaside park killed at least five people and injured at least 32, including two children and a pregnant woman.
In addition to those killed in Monday’s blitz, a man reportedly died after suffering a stroke attributed to the attack.
Regional governor Oleh Kiper said a four-year-old child and seven other injured people were in serious condition.
A dog was also killed by shrapnel.
Images shared on Telegram by Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin, showed the city’s seafront being riddled with explosions.
One of the missiles hit a university founded in 1997, Odesa Law Academia, known locally as “Harry Potter Castle”.
Huge, bright orange-red flames engulfed the historic building as firefighters desperately tried to extinguish the blaze.
The roof of the ornate building was virtually destroyed.
Kostin said on Tuesday: “Russia cynically disregards all norms of international humanitarian law. Last night, the enemy sneakily attacked Odesa.
“Five people died, more than 30 were injured. Among the injured were two children and a pregnant woman.
“Five injured people are in extremely serious condition.”
He claimed the attack was carried out by an Iskander ballistic missile with a cluster warhead, an “indiscriminate weapon” that could lead to “significant” civilian casualties.
The Attorney General continued: “Within a radius of 1.5 km from the bombing site, metal fragments and rocket debris were recovered.
“The investigation has reason to believe that the decision to use such a weapon was made deliberately by officials of the Soviet Union in order to kill as many peaceful Ukrainians as possible.
“The investigation is ongoing. We will find and punish those who issue criminal orders to shell peaceful Ukrainian cities.”
Prominent former parliamentarian Serhiy Kivalov is said to have owned the private law academy and called it home “Harry Potter’s Castle”.
He would be among those injured in the strike.
Other video footage and photographs from the scene appeared to show people receiving treatment in the street next to pools of blood as authorities examined part of a missile.
What are cluster bombs?
A CLUSTER bomb is a weapon that contains multiple explosive submunitions.
The munition releases or ejects smaller submunitions when it is dropped from the air or launched from the ground.
It is designed to inflict casualties on personnel and poses the greatest threat to civilians – not equipment or soldiers.
These bombs are dangerous to civilians, both during attacks and afterwards, as they release many small bombs over a wide area.
Bombs that do not explode immediately can kill or maim civilians long after the battle is over and are expensive to transport.
Hundreds of attacks by Russian forces with cluster munitions have been recorded since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine have signed the 2008 convention limiting the use of cluster munitions.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
