Two Russian missile attacks in Ukraine kill 20

International Desk: Russia has launched a twin missile attack on the port city of Odessa in Ukraine. At least 20 people including rescue workers were killed. 73 people were injured. Some of the injured are in critical condition.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack on Friday (March 15) heinous. Voting for the presidential election has started across Russia since Friday morning. The first missile hit Odessa around 11:00 a.m. local time, hours after the vote began.

Ukrainian emergency services rushed to the scene after it hit. At that time, the second missile was launched by Russian troops. Local authorities said Russian airstrikes targeted residential buildings, gas pipelines and ambulances.

Witnesses saw bodies on the road. Pictures released showed rescue workers putting out the fire and helping the injured. Ukrainian President Zelensky said the attack by Russian forces on the port center was known as a double-tap strike, with the second missile hitting rescue workers at the scene. Moscow targeted Odessa with Iskander missiles launched from the Crimean peninsula, city officials said.

Denis Kolesnikov, an emergency service worker, was killed in the second missile attack. At least seven emergency services workers were among the 73 injured, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said.