Norwegian diplomats caught under attack in Odesa – Zelensky

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated this in his evening address, according to Ukrinform.

"Odesa is recovering from yesterday's strikes on the city center. Museums, the philharmonic, many historic buildings, and a famous Odesa hotel were damaged. Not only Ukrainians, but even Norwegian diplomats working in Ukraine were caught under attack in Odesa," Zelensky noted.

The President emphasized that sanctions must be truly strong to prevent Russia from acquiring foreign components for missiles and drones, thus stopping it from destroying lives in other nations.

According to him, recovery efforts are still ongoing in Poltava after last night's strike.

"As of now, 17 people are known to have been affected. All of them have received assistance. Twenty-two people have been rescued. More people are still being searched for under the rubble. At the moment, the list of fatalities, tragically, includes eight names. My condolences to their families and loved ones," the President said.

Zelensky stated that, in total, last night alone, Russia launched 165 missiles and drones of various types. Besides Poltava, the attacks targeted Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk regions.

He also stressed the need to be absolutely honest about Russia’s ongoing terror campaign, stating that Russians would not be able to cause such extensive damage so frequently and intensively on their own.

"Every Russian “Shahed” drone, every Russian missile – these are components made in other countries...Without such critical components, Russia will have no ability to destroy the lives of other nations. Therefore, it is critical that sanctions be truly strong and impossible to circumvent under any circumstances," the Ukrainian President emphasized.

As reported by Ukrinform, a missile strike on Poltava on February 1 morning killed eight people, including a child.