Russian missile destroys Dayana Yastremska family apartment in Odesa strike

Strike on Odesa apartment building

Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska announced on Saturday that her family's apartment in Odesa was destroyed by a Russian Kalibr cruise missile on Friday evening. The 26-year-old athlete, ranked world number 113, published images and video footage on Instagram showing severe destruction and fires on the upper floors of the residential building. Yastremska noted that the only item to survive the impact was an orange Roland Garros tournament towel hanging from the rubble. The former world number 21 was born in Odesa and fled Ukraine with her younger sister Ivanna following the February 2022 invasion, while their parents stayed in the country.

This is what the 'Russian world' looks like. A direct hit by a Kalibr cruise missile.

Criticism of tennis governing bodies

Following the destruction of her family home, Yastremska directed public criticism at the Women's Tennis Association and the International Tennis Federation over their policies regarding Russian and Belarusian athletes. Russian and Belarusian players have competed under neutral status without national symbols since 2022, while their national federations remain suspended from team events and ITF membership. Yastremska challenged the governing bodies to observe the aftermath of the bombardment and reconsider their stance. Ukrainian players on the professional tour consistently decline to shake hands with Russian or Belarusian opponents following matches. The WTA previously stated that it unequivocally condemned Russia's war on Ukraine and had consistently supported Ukrainian athletes.

Look at these pictures with our eyes. This is what your 'neutrality' really means from the Ukrainian perspective.

War impacts on Ukrainian players

The incident is part of a series of wartime strikes affecting Ukrainian tennis professionals and their properties. In January 2024, Yastremska reported that a rocket struck the Odesa apartment building where her grandmother lived. During the French Open in May, Marta Kostyuk stated that a Russian missile hit a residential building roughly 100 metres from her parents' home in Kyiv just hours before her opening match. Additionally, 31-year-old Elina Svitolina reported during the recent US Open in New York that her padel club in Kyiv suffered heavy damage from a Russian attack.

Casualties across Ukraine

The strike on Yastremska's building occurred during a broader sequence of overnight Russian missile and drone attacks across several regions of Ukraine. In Odesa, regional governor Oleh Kiper and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that 37 people were injured, including an infant, while emergency crews continued searching for two missing individuals. In the nearby town of Chornomorsk, 11 people sustained injuries when a drone struck a hotel. Ukrainian officials stated that strikes across Ukraine on Saturday killed at least six people, including two deaths from a residential drone hit in Zaporizhzhia, where six other people were injured. Russia's defence ministry stated that its forces targeted industrial facilities and cargo ships in Ukrainian port areas.