Russian troops continue to advance into southern Ukraine and plan to attack Odessa, one of the country’s most important port cities. Once in control, they will be able to completely remove Ukraine’s outlets on the Black Sea.

Odessa is a city that has historically been friendly to Russia and its Russian population: in fact it is a very popular tourist destination for Russians, especially because of its beaches and spas. In a poll last September, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that 68 percent of Odessa’s residents were Russians and Ukrainians.A people.

But things changed when the Russian occupation began. Today, residents of Odessa are preparing for a possible attack: most shops are closed, the historic Opera House is surrounded by sandbags to prevent damage from the bombing, and barricades are erected to prevent entry. Military vehicles on the Potemkin staircase, one of the city’s symbols known for its representation in the 1925 picture The warship Potemkin, Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein.

Mayor Gennady Trukhanov – a politician at the center of a number of scandals who had previously expressed appreciation for the policies of the Russian government – began to sharply criticize the Russian occupation and Putin’s arguments, changing his attitude. Monday is over An interview Putin spoke of the possibility of deciding to attack Odessa:

“I do not know what kind of idiot or idiot you are to launch a missile at the push of a button in Odessa,” he said. This is beyond my comprehension.

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