Zelensky and Mitsotakis were visiting the Odessa port around 10:40 a.m. when air raid sirens could be heard. The explosion then occurred within minutes.
“We witnessed the strike today,” Zelensky told reporters after. “You see who we’re dealing with; they don’t care where to hit. I know there were casualties today; I don’t know all the details yet, but I know there are casualties.”
“Whether they are military, civilians, international guests — it doesn’t matter to these people,” he added. “Either they’ve lost their minds, or they have no control over their terrorist army’s actions. This emphasizes the need for us to defend ourselves, and the best way is through an air defense system.”
Throughout two years of war with Russia, Zelensky has frequently traveled throughout Ukraine and has often visited front-line locations at great risk. But Wednesday would mark one of the closest calls for both the president and a visiting foreign leader.
“We heard the sound of sirens and explosions that were very close to us,” Mitsotakis was quoted by the Ukrainian state broadcaster as saying. “We didn’t have time to go to a safe place.”
“It was a very striking experience,” Mitsotakis added. “We understand that this war concerns everyone; there are no people who are outside of the war. War spares no one, and Ukraine is resisting barbaric force. It’s different to read about the war in the newspaper and to feel it, to hear it with your own ears.”
Odessa has been particularly hard-hit in recent days, and Zelensky has pointed to delays by allies in supplying air defense in contributing to the rising toll of civilian deaths in the city. Over the weekend, a Russian attack on an apartment building killed 12, including five children. Zelensky and Mitsotakis visited the site of the March 2 strike, each laying down a bouquet of flowers at a makeshift memorial in front of the building.
Because drones and missiles heading for Odessa are typically launched from the nearby occupied Crimean Peninsula, also on the Black Sea, people there typically have little time to seek shelter after an air alert is declared.
The city, which has deep symbolic significance for imperial Russians, is also an economic lifeline for Ukraine with its busiest port. Ukraine has continued to export grain out of Odessa despite Russia last year exiting a deal that allowed cargo ships safe passage to sail along a corridor in the Black Sea.
“The world has enough missile defense systems, systems to protect against Shahed drones and missiles,” Zelensky said in a recent address on his social media referring to Iranian-made attack drones used by Russia. “And delaying the supply of weapons to Ukraine, missile defense systems to protect our people, leads, unfortunately, to such losses.”
Though Zelensky didn’t specifically refer to the United States, Ukraine’s largest donor of weapons, a new security assistance package from Washington has been stalled in Congress for months.
Hours after the strike on Odessa, a missile appeared to strike a shopping center in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Nikopol. The number of casualties was still unclear.
Nearly two years earlier, in May 2022, it was European Council President Charles Michel who was scrambling for cover in Odessa during another missile strike.
Serhii Korolchuk in Kyiv and John Hudson in Washington contributed to this report.