Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says an expected Russian assault on the key port city of Odesa ‘will be a war crime’

• Ukrainian President Zelensky said Russian forces are expected to bomb Odesa, a key port city.
• Zelensky said that such an assault on the country’s third-largest city “will be a war crime.”
• More than 1.5 million residents have fled Ukraine, per the UN refugee agency commissioner.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video released on Sunday said that Russian forces are expected to bomb Odesa, the country’s third-largest city and a key shipping port on the Black Sea, calling such an assault “a war crime,” according to The Washington Post.

Zelensky, who has rallied Ukraine against the invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin, lamented that the coastal city has been a welcoming place for citizens from Russia but could soon face a military onslaught. 

“Russians always traveled to Odesa, always felt only warmth in Odesa,” Zelensky said. “And now what? Bombs against Odesa? Artillery against Odesa? Rockets against Odesa? This will be a war crime.”

Odesa, known for its beaches, now has sand from its shoreline being used for roadblocks. According to The Post, Russian warships have been present off the city’s shore for several days.

The warning for Odesa — with a population of over 1 million residents – comes as Russia has continued their advance into Ukraine despite setbacks in their incursion into the country, including the stiff-armed resistance from Ukrainian forces and Zelensky’s refusal to leave his government. 

The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense in a Sunday intelligence report stated that Russia has responded to the “scale and strength of Ukrainian resistance” by “targeting populated areas in multiple locations, including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol.”

“This is likely to represent an effort to break Ukrainian morale,” the report stated. “Russia has previously used similar tactics in Chechnya in 1999 and Syria in 2016, employing both air and ground-based munitions.”

Many parts of the county that were flourishing less than two weeks ago now lack heating, water, and electricity, with more than 1.5 million residents have fled the country, according to UN refugee agency commissioner Filippo Grandi.

Grandi on Sunday called the displacement “the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.”