A Ukrainian colleague compared it to the first days of the pandemic, when the streets emptied with expectations of possible disaster and fear of the unknown.
But after a while, people began to appear on the streets in greater numbers as they adapted to their changed conditions.
Moreover, predictions that the strategic value of Odessa, as the largest port on the Black Sea in Ukraine and the seat of its small navy, would make it an early target for the Russians have not been realized.
Other cities have suffered the most from these early attacks, and so bought time in Odessa.
“We understand that while … Kyiv is fighting, while Kharkov is fighting, while Mykolaiv is now fighting so bravely, we have this gap to prepare the city,” said Inga Kordinovska, a lawyer who coordinates humanitarian aid from Odessa. front lines Ukraine.
Inga Kordynovska is a lawyer who coordinates humanitarian aid from Odessa to the front lines throughout Ukraine. (Jean-Francois Bisson / CBC)
The shelves of bars and stalls in the modern Odessa food market are now full of medicines and warm clothes for front-line soldiers and basic supplies for people trapped by the fighting.
Volunteers in high vests pack boxes or hit computers in the market’s two-level gallery, under a huge red dragon left over from happier times and still hanging from the ceiling.
Volunteers with the Ukrainian war effort sit at a food market in Odessa. The sign next to the picture of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reads “Our nation is not for sale”. (Jason Ho / CBC)
Kordynovska says that the horror of what is unfolding in cities such as Hersonissos, Melitopolis and especially Mariupol in the east is a strong motivator and unifier for the Odysseans who are preparing their city for war.
“We see that every city where Russian soldiers came, everything was destroyed,” he said. “And of course even those who say they are not [into] policy – [that] It does not matter to us, Odessa is a separate city – now they understand that, no, you can not be out of this process. “You can not say ‘It does not concern me.’
Odessa “had a long time to prepare”
Some analysts have argued that the reason Odessa has survived so far – apart from strong resistance from Russian forces in cities such as Mariupol and Hersonissos – is because the city, founded by the Russian Tsar Catherine the Great in 1794 , is of particular importance to Russia. President Vladimir Putin. Whatever the reason, the authorities appear determined not to waste time. The elegant core of the center of Odessa is now a closed military zone dressed for war. CLOCKS People in Odessa, Ukraine are preparing for the possibility of an immediate battle with the Russian army:
Odessa remains unharmed, but on alert
Ukraine’s Odessa has escaped any major Russian attacks so far, but residents of the large port city say that does not mean they can relax. 2:30
Metal anti-tank barriers are scattered in the city streets, some so large that they make dwarfs pass by, looking from afar like tiny pieces caught in a giant board game.
The baroque opera house of Odessa is now inaccessible to ordinary citizens, it stands behind sandbags and sparkles like a cake on the other side of a checkpoint. Musicians can still continue practicing, showing IDs to soldiers with their instruments hidden behind their backs.
Residents who have not left the closed military zone are also allowed to pass, including 83-year-old Mark Bradis, who served in the former Soviet army.
“And where can I go?” he said when asked why he has not left the blockaded area. “My wife is sick. She has Alzheimer’s. I take care of her.”
His outlook is bleak.
“It is impossible to win [Putin]”He has a lot of weapons he has not used yet. I am afraid that everything could lead to a nuclear war.”
Brady asked, “Why occupy other people’s lands? Slave people? I can not understand. It does not fit in my head.”
As part of the fortifications in the event of a full-scale Russian attack, the Odessa baroque opera stands behind sacks of sand. (Jason Ho / CBC)
Some of the young soldiers at the checkpoints are more optimistic, insisting that Russian troops will never be able to occupy Odessa.
“They can try,” said Ilya, a 23-year-old who chose not to give his last name for security reasons. “Odessa in my mind had a lot of time to prepare. The city is definitely ready.”
“This is a global evil”
Local authorities are working hard to keep morale high among the city’s defenders.
In a somewhat surreal scene over the weekend, a ceremony was held to honor members of the National Guard at the empty promenade at the top of the Potemkin Stairs, immortalized in Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 film Battleship Potemkin.
There were flags, two armored personnel carriers, and a band that sounded loud every time someone called their name to receive a certificate – but no audience to watch and applaud.
In an effort to boost morale last weekend, local authorities organized a ceremony to honor members of the National Guard. It included flags, two armored personnel carriers and a marching band. (Jason Ho / CBC)
Former pro-Russian mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov was on standby.
“I could not have imagined that [Russians] our enemies, “he told CBC News in an interview.
Most Odessa residents are native Russians, and there have been divisions over Ukrainian and Russian identity issues in the city in the past. Trukhanov says Putin’s invasion has ended.
“What politicians have failed to do for 30 years – as they say, to sew Ukraine together – we have achieved today. We have realized that we are all Ukrainian brothers and we have a land. It must be protected and we will do it.”
Odessa residents sing the national anthem after the construction of a roadblock for a checkpoint last week. (Oleksandr Gimanov / AFP via Getty Images)
Trukhanov insisted “we are not relaxing”.
“And I would advise European countries not to relax, because this is a global evil, a global evil, which today has shown all its essence by launching a bloody war and killing civilians.”
Watching Russian progress
Air raid sirens are often sounded in Odessa, in part because the city’s air defense systems are intercepted by cruise missiles fired by Russian warships stationed somewhere in the Black Sea at targets further inland.
Odessa itself is said to have been hit by bombings only once, in a residential neighborhood on the outskirts.
On Tuesday, however, a cruise missile struck the Regional Government Building in Mykolaiv, another port city about 130 kilometers east of Odessa.
So far, Ukrainian forces have managed to prevent Russian troops from advancing beyond Mykolaiv.
But if the Russians managed to overtake Mykolaiv on land, the consensus for many is that Moscow would be more likely to try to land troops near Odessa by sea.
Some of the beaches along the south coast are said to have been mined by Ukrainians in an attempt to thwart any such attempt.
And in one part of Odessa, near the now dormant yacht club, local volunteers of all ages regularly gather with shovels to help fill sandbags, which are then transported elsewhere for the city’s defense.
A woman fills a bag with sand from the beach of Odessa, as part of a broader effort to strengthen the city’s defenses against a possible Russian attack. (Jason Ho / CBC)
Among the volunteers is Olga Hodi, a librarian in her 60s. He says it helps to calm the nerves to do something practical.
“Sitting down and doing nothing is much worse. When you do something, you feel useful. Otherwise, you may be constantly reading the news and feeling scared and having panic attacks.”
Inga Kordynovska, who coordinates the city’s humanitarian hub, calls the community spirit a continuation of the Maidan uprising in 2014, which led to the overthrow of Ukraine’s then-pro-Russian central government.
“You know, Maidan gave us great feelings of cooperation, but now, it’s a hundred times more,” he said.
“Now we completely forget about all our previous conflicts inside Ukraine. It does not matter with whom – with power, with authorities, with companies, with voluntary organizations. Everyone is really cooperating now. And I think that is the main weapon in this war.”
