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

You might also like:

Dec. 14, 2025

Odrex case: court does not allow Dr. Rusakov to return to medical practice

Odesa schools decided not to switch to distance learning

"Chornomorets receives a ban on transfers from FIFA

Odesa girl wins Miss Ukraine 2025 title

Court returns warehouses in Odesa to the Ministry of Defense

Odesa utility workers return from building fortifications in the east

8,000 hectares of land confiscated from a fish farm in Odesa region

Seized land plot in Odesa put up for sale for 14 million

Turkish ship suffers from Russian strike on the high seas

Community in Odesa region changes parish due to priest's refusal to pray for Ukraine

Water supply to Odesa residents has been restored

Dec. 13, 2025

Gender dimension and anatomy of power in Odesa region

The National Bank failed to sell warehouses in Odesa for 96 million

Mayor of Artsyz says power supply in the city may be cut for a week

Head of Odesa MVA could not name the timeframe for returning electricity to the city