Pictures: Ukraine's 'Harry Potter Castle' Burns After Russian Strike
Getty Images
Five people were killed and dozens injured in a missile strike on Ukraine's third city, Odesa, with an ornate seafront building locally known as the 'Harry Potter Castle' burnt out.
Ukraine's military stated an Iskander-M ballistic missile “with a cluster warhead” fell on Odesa, the south-eastern coastal city which is now one of Ukraine's main ports after Russia occupied Crimea in 2014. According to state media five people were killed in the strike, and 32 were injured, including a young child and a pregnant woman.
Among the buildings damaged was a campus of the Odessa Law Academy, a private school run by a prominent former Ukrainian member of parliament, Serhii Kivalov. Kivalov's former party is now banned in Ukraine. He is said to have been among the injured overnight in the missile strike.
This photograph taken on April 29, 2024, in Odesa, shows a burning building damaged as a result of a missile attack, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Russian missile strike on April 29, 2024 killed at least two people and wounded eight in the south Ukrainian port city of Odesa, the local governor said. (Photo by Oleksandr GIMANOV / AFP) (Photo by OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty Images)
This photograph taken on April 29, 2024, in Odesa, shows a burning building damaged as a result of a missile attack, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Russian missile strike on April 29, 2024 killed at least two people and wounded eight in the south Ukrainian port city of Odesa, the local governor said. (Photo by Oleksandr GIMANOV / AFP) (Photo by OLEKSANDR GIMANOVOLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty Images)
Members of the Red Cross work with Ukrainian firefighters at the site of a burning building damaged as a result of a missile attack, in Odesa, on April 29, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Russian missile strike on April 29, 2024 killed at least two people and wounded eight in the south Ukrainian port city of Odesa, the local governor said. (Photo by Oleksandr GIMANOV / AFP) (Photo by OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty Images)
The seafront building of the Law Academy, unroofed and burnt out in the strike, was hit during the attack. Built in a French Renaissance Revival chateau style, the building was reportedly known to locals as the 'Harry Potter Castle', a common nickname given to any relatively ornate building in a world where J.K. Rowling's eponymous best-sellers are a key cultural touchstone.
One student of the Academy who witnessed the destruction of the building said it was hit by a missile falling from the sky after it was shot down. They said: “In front of my eyes, a missile was shot down, this was just in front of me. My doors were blown open and the glass was shaking.”
The Palace of Students of the Odesa Law Academy is on fire due to a Russian missile attack in Odesa, Ukraine, on April 29, 2024, which has killed five people. Preliminary reports indicate that the Russian army is using a ballistic missile with cluster munition to strike the southern Ukrainian port city. NO USE RUSSIA. NO USE BELARUS. (Photo by Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Palace of Students of the Odesa Law Academy is on fire due to a Russian missile attack in Odesa, Ukraine, on April 29, 2024, which has killed five people. Preliminary reports indicate that the Russian army is using a ballistic missile with cluster munition to strike the southern Ukrainian port city. NO USE RUSSIA. NO USE BELARUS. (Photo by Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Palace of Students of the Odesa Law Academy is on fire due to a Russian missile attack in Odesa, Ukraine, on April 29, 2024, which has killed five people. Preliminary reports indicate that the Russian army is using a ballistic missile with cluster munition to strike the southern Ukrainian port city. NO USE RUSSIA. NO USE BELARUS. (Photo by Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Source link