International Desk: At least 20 people were killed in a twin missile attack by the Russian forces in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. Besides, 73 others were injured. Several of them were seriously injured.

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It is considered the heaviest attack by Russian forces on the Black Sea city in the past two years.

Voting for the presidential election began across Russia on Friday (March 15) morning. The first missile hit Odessa at 11:00 a.m. local time, hours after the vote began.

Officials of Ukraine's emergency services rushed to the scene after the attack. At this time, the second attack was carried out by the Russian troops. This type of missile attack is called 'double tap attack'.

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Mariana Averina, spokesperson for the emergency services, told CNN that the Russian forces have launched a "double tap" attack in Odessa for the first time since the start of military operations in Ukraine in February 2022.

He also said that after the first missile hit, emergency services personnel went to the spot to control the fire and started rescuing people from the rubble. That's when the second missile hit.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said the second attack killed Denis Kolesnikov, 25, an emergency service worker. Besides, among the 73 people injured, there are at least 7 workers of the emergency services department.

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In a video message yesterday evening, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, referred to this attack as despicable cowardice and said that the Ukrainian Defense Forces will respond appropriately to this attack. Emergency services continue to rescue people from the rubble.

In a statement, the UN's Ukraine affairs officer, David Brown, described the attack by Russian forces as completely unacceptable. Along with that, he also comforted the family members of the deceased.

The seaport of Odessa is the most important port of Ukraine. Most of the food grains of this country, one of the top producers of wheat and corn in the world, are sent to other countries from this port. The country's largest naval base is also located in this city. Source: CNN

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