Historic Orthodox cathedral badly damaged in attack on Odesa which killed one and injured 19

The Orthodox cathedral is one of a number of buildings damaged in the attack

One person has been killed and 19 more injured in Russian missile strikes on the port city of Odesa which also damaged the city's historic cathedral.

Six residential buildings, some of them apartment blocks, were destroyed by the strikes, which left 14 people hospitalised, including four children.

The historical Transfiguration Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – a religion linked to Russian Orthodox - was badly damaged in the attack.

The Orthodox Cathedral in Odesa was badly damaged in the attacks.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said: “Barrages of Russian missiles kill people and ruin iconic sites in UNESCO-protected Odesa. The largest-ever attack on a major port vital for world food security is an attack on the entire global community. I urge all states and organisations to condemn this barbaric war crime.”

The building is Odesa's largest Orthodox church and was consecrated in 1809. It was demolished by the Soviet Union in 1939, before being re-built in 2003.

Andriy Palchuk, the archdeacon of the Cathedral, said: "The destruction is enormous; half of the cathedral was left without a roof, and the central piles and foundation were destroyed," he said.

“All the windows and stucco moulding were blown out. There was a fragmentary fire, the part where icons and candles are sold in the church caught fire. It was all on fire, burning.”

Odesa is Ukraine's biggest port, and has shipped millions of tonnes of grain from its docks under a deal brokered by the US and Turkey last year. However, that arrangement – which allowed cargo ships to sail along a corridor in the Black Sea - came to an end last Monday when Russia withdrew.

Ukraine has since accused Russia of attacking targets linked to grain infrastructure. The end of the deal will most strongly affect developing countries reliant on Ukrainian grain supplies.