17 dead in southern Ukraine strikes, after Russia quits Snake Island

Russian forces have retreated from Snake Island, a Ukrainian outcrop in the Black Sea, but continue to bombard mainland targets

At least 17 people were killed and dozens wounded Friday in missile strikes on Ukraine's Odessa region, a day after Russian troops abandoned positions on a strategic island in a major setback to the Kremlin's invasion. 

The news came after NATO leaders wrapped up a summit in Madrid, with US President Joe Biden announcing $800 million in new weapons for Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov compared surging diplomatic tensions to the Cold War, telling reporters: "As far as an Iron Curtain is concerned, essentially it is already descending... The process has begun."

It came after Widodo visited both Moscow and Kyiv. Neither side has revealed what was in the note.

The nine-storey apartment building was partially destroyed, leaving 14 people dead and 30 wounded, the emergency services said. 

The strikes, in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, were launched by aircraft that flew in from the Black Sea, said Odessa military administration spokesman Sergiy Bratchuk.

Earlier this week, there was global outrage when a Russian strike destroyed a shopping centre in Kremenchuk, central Ukraine, killing at least 18 civilians. Putin has denied Moscow's forces were responsible.

Friday's attacks came a day after Russian troops abandoned their positions on Snake Island, off the coast of Odessa.

It was also a strategic target, sitting aside shipping lanes near the port of Odessa. Russia had attempted to install missile and air defence batteries while under fire from drones.

"It does not yet guarantee security. It does not yet guarantee that the enemy will not return. But it already considerably limits the actions of the occupiers."

In peacetime, Ukraine is a major agricultural exporter, but Russia's invasion has damaged farmland and seen Ukraine's ports seized, razed or blockaded -- sparking concerns about food shortages, particularly in poor countries.

- Donbas under fire -

Evgeny Balitsky, the head of the pro-Moscow administration, said Russia's Black Sea ships "are ensuring the security" of the journey, adding that the port had been de-mined.

Russian missiles continued to rain down elsewhere in Ukraine, with the city of Lysychansk in the eastern Donbas region coming under sustained bombardment. 

Sergiy Gaiday -- governor of the Lugansk region, which includes Lysychansk -- said the city continued to face heavy shelling. 

The Russians had taken control of parts of the city's oil refinery, he said. 

On Friday, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen told Ukraine's parliament that membership was "within reach" but urged them to press forward with anti-corruption reforms.

bur-sr/axn

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Originally published as 17 dead in southern Ukraine strikes, after Russia quits Snake Island