A large Russian drone attack hit Odesa overnight on January 27, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, Ukrainian officials said. The strikes damaged multiple buildings, and officials said some people could still be trapped under rubble as emergency crews continued rescue work.
Officials said Russia sent a swarm of more than 50 drones into the southern port city in an attack that began at about 2:20 a.m. local time. Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said the strikes hit several apartment and university buildings and damaged dozens of residential buildings, a preschool, and a church.
Rescue work continues after overnight strike
Kiper said emergency workers pulled 14 people from the rubble, including one child, and that it was still believed others might remain trapped. As the day went on, a Telegram post attributed to Serhiy Lysak—described in the same report as the Odesa mayor—said the first known fatality was recovered after hours of digging.
Later on January 27, the same report said the death toll had risen to three people pulled from the ruins, while rescue work continued. The report described the situation as still developing, with officials continuing to assess damage and search affected sites.
Buildings damaged in central port areas
According to details shared in the report, 43 buildings and 122 apartment units were affected in Odesa’s Prymorskiy Neighborhood, described as the downtown area near the Black Sea that includes much of the city’s well-known port. The same report said three other buildings were damaged in the Perespylsky neighborhood, described as an area that includes the rest of the main ports.
An energy provider, DTEK, said its facilities were among those hit and warned that repairs would take extended time to return equipment to working condition. Officials did not provide an overall timeline for restoration in the information cited by the report.
Ukraine reports wider drone and missile attacks
While Odesa was described as the hardest-hit city overnight, Ukraine’s Air Force reported a broader wave of drones across the country. The Air Force said there were 165 Russian drones in Ukrainian airspace, including 24 strikes in 14 locations, and also reported nine cases of drone debris falling on buildings around the country.
In a separate update covering the night of January 27–28, the Ukrainian Air Force Command said Russian forces attacked Ukraine with an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 146 Shahed, Gerbera and Italmas loitering munitions, plus drones of other types. The Air Force Command said around 90 of those were Shahed attack drones.
By 9:00 a.m., the Air Force Command said Ukrainian air defense had shot down or jammed 103 Shahed and Gerbera loitering munitions and other types of drones over the north, south, center, and east of Ukraine. The same update said hits by the ballistic missile and 36 attack UAVs were recorded at 22 locations.
The Air Force Command said the aerial attack was being repelled using aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare assets, unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups from Ukraine’s defense forces. It also said the attack was ongoing and that several Russian UAVs remained in Ukrainian airspace at the time of the update.
Recent strikes have disrupted power in Odesa
The report on the Odesa attack noted that another Russian strike in December knocked out the electric grid for much of the city. It also said that a series of strikes in recent weeks had spread power cuts throughout the country.
For residents in Odesa, the latest attack combined damage to housing with impacts near the city’s port areas, as officials assessed what was hit and how long repairs could take. Emergency crews continued work at damaged sites as authorities warned that the full number of people affected could still change.
