May 16, 2025, 8:45 a.m.

Enemy drone destroys house of Odesa zoo director

(Photo: Odesa Zoo)

As a result of an attack by an enemy drone, the house of the director of the Odesa Zoo, Igor Bilyakov, was destroyed.

This was reported in the municipal institution "Odesa Zoo".

According to the zoo, the director himself was not injured, but his cell phone was completely burned. Because of this, he is currently unable to answer calls.

"Fortunately, the director of the zoo was not injured, but his phone burned down, so he is currently unable to answer calls. We ask for understanding of this situation," the zoo said in a statement.

During the night, three air raids were recorded in Odesa region. The first one was announced at 02:15, after which the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine warned of the threat of attack drones moving from the Black Sea towards the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district. The alert was called off at 02:43. The second air alert was announced at 03:28 and lasted until 05:01. In the morning, sirens were sounded at 07:04 due to the threat of ballistic missiles. The air raid was called off at 07:41.

Odesa is under constant attack from Russia - the city is regularly shelled with Shahed-type kamikaze drones. These attacks damage residential buildings, infrastructure and historical buildings. Some of the buildings are in disrepair and must be dismantled after the shelling.

On May 15, the executive committee announced the dismantling of four buildings in Odesa that had been completely destroyed by Russian shelling. The deputies decided that the dismantling would be carried out on Skisna, Agronomichna, Zadniprovsky and Mykola Borovskoho streets.

Partial dismantling will also be carried out in two private houses on Zelena Balka Street. Residents of the affected properties are applying for compensation under the government's eRestoration program: the owners of three apartments on Yaroslav Mudryi Avenue and five on Skisna Street have already submitted their documents. The rest of the residents are still preparing their title deeds.

Ірина Глухова

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