Why is Russia escalating attacks on Ukraine's Odesa?

"Russian forces have struck Ukraine's southern Black Sea port of Odesa, damaging port facilities and a ship, the region's governor says. The attack late on Monday followed another at the weekend when Moscow carried out a sustained barrage of drones and missile attacks on the wider area around Odesa, which is home to ports crucial to Ukraine's overseas trade and fuel imports. They followed Russian threats to cut Ukraine off from the sea."

"The escalation in Russia's assault on Odesa, Ukraine's biggest port city, has unfolded as Washington steps up diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war. Ukrainian officials met members of a US delegation on Friday in Florida while US envoys held talks with Russian representatives on Saturday. The situation in the Odesa region is harsh due to Russian strikes on port infrastructure and logistics, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Monday."

"On Tuesday, the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Oleh Kiper, said Russian strikes overnight had damaged a civilian cargo vessel and a warehouse in a district of Odesa while the roof of a two-storey residential building had caught fire. Meanwhile, strikes on Saturday on the port of Pivdennyi near Odesa damaged storage reservoirs, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said. Those came just one day after a ballistic missile strike, also in Pivdennyi, had killed eight people and wounded at least 30."

Russian strikes have hit Odesa and nearby ports, damaging port facilities, a civilian cargo vessel, storage reservoirs, and a ship after sustained drone and missile barrages. The attacks targeted ports crucial to Ukraine's overseas trade and fuel imports and followed Russian threats to cut Ukraine off from the sea. The escalation has occurred as Washington increases diplomatic engagement and US envoys hold talks with Russian representatives. Recent strikes caused a residential roof fire, killed eight people and wounded at least 30 in Pivdennyi, and damaged energy infrastructure, triggering widespread power outages in Odesa.

Read at www.aljazeera.com