A Russian strike hit the international airport of Odesa (ODS), southwestern Ukraine, on April 30, 2022, rendering the runway inoperable.
The runway was destroyed by a Bastion missile system located in Crimea, according to the Governor of Odesa oblast Maksym Marchenko. “Thank God there were no casualties,” the governor said in a video on his Telegram account.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said high-precision Onyx missiles were used to strike the airport, which it stated was used by the United States and European countries to supply Ukraine with weapons and material. The ministry claimed a large depot of weapons was destroyed.
Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, multiple civilian airports were targeted by Russian armed forces in order to isolate the country from foreign military and humanitarian support.
On February 24, 2022, the first day of the invasion, a massive air assault was launched on Hostomel Airport (GML) in the vicinity of Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv. In the meantime, bombs hit Kyiv-Boryspil International Airport (KBP).
On April 10, 2022, the airport of Dnipro (DNK) in eastern Ukraine was “completely destroyed” by Russian bombings, according to the Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Valentyn Reznichenko.