Four injured, including three children in Russian attack on Odesa, Ukraine says

Dec 31 (Reuters) - Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Ukraine’s Odesa region, damaging residential buildings and infrastructure and injuring four people, including three children, regional authorities said on Wednesday.

Odesa, a major Black Sea port, has been repeatedly targeted by Russian missiles and drones during nearly four years of war, with strikes frequently hitting energy, transport and port infrastructure as well as residential areas.

"Strike drones attacked residential, logistics and energy infrastructure in our region," Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region, said on the Telegram messaging app. 

In Odesa city, which is the administrative centre of the broader Odesa region, four people were injured, including a seven-month-old infant, two other children, and a 42-year-old man, Serhiy Lisak, the head of Odesa's military administration, said on Telegram.

He said that drone debris and direct hits damaged facades and windows of several high-rise apartment buildings.

Lisak posted images showing smoke billowing from a multi-storey apartment building at night, with flames visible in several windows and what appears to be a firefighter’s water jet aimed at the facade.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attacks on Odesa. 

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Saad Sayeed)