Russian Missile Slams Odesa Stadium While Repeat Attack Injures Two Rescuers in Zaporizhzhia

Russian forces struck southern Ukraine on August 7, damaging Odesa's main football stadium and wounding two rescuers in the Zaporizhzhia region during a repeat attack on emergency crews, according to the local officials’ reports.

The missile strike hit Odesa at around 3 p.m., with one impact landing at the Chornomorets Stadium, the largest sports arena in southern Ukraine. Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko first reported the attack on his Telegram channel, publishing footage from the impact site.

The blast wave damaged the arena's load-bearing structures and blew out glazing around the building's entire perimeter, while a fire broke out nearby.

Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, confirmed that a 29-year-old woman sustained shrapnel wounds. "The injured woman is being provided with all necessary assistance. All relevant services are working at the scene," he noted.

The explosion also ignited dry grass on land adjoining the stadium, which rescuers moved quickly to put out.

The Chornomorets Stadium sits in Shevchenko Park in Odesa's historic center and regularly hosts Ukrainian Premier League matches. A championship fixture involving the local club is scheduled there for August 8, leaving the game in doubt.

In the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian forces carried out a double-tap strike, wounding two rescuers, Ivan Fedorov, head of the regional military administration, reported. The second strike hit a fire truck as crews were extinguishing a blaze caused by the initial attack.

Fedorov added that the strike damaged an outbuilding at a private household, which subsequently caught fire.

Russian forces have repeatedly targeted emergency crews arriving to respond to their earlier strikes, a tactic that has recurred across the Zaporizhzhia region.

On July 13, guided bombs struck residential areas of Zaporizhzhia, after which attack drones were directed at the same location while police, rescuers, and medics treated the wounded.

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