March 5, 2022 – In Odesa, Ukraine’s third largest city, civilians are filling sandbags and making thousands of Molotov cocktails to prepare to defend their homes against Russian forces.
April 3, 2022 – The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed a strike on an oil refinery and fuel storage facilities in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. The city’s mayor said there were no casualties following the strike.
April 29, 2022 – Recent missile strikes on Odesa in Ukraine’s south continue to fuel speculation about Russian intentions for the strategic port on the Black Sea. We’ve looked at why the city is of such great importance to both Ukraine and Russia.
May 2, 2014 – Violence broke out today in the Ukrainian city of Odesa following demonstrations between pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia groups. Local riot police attempted to separate the groups using tear gas and batons. Both groups of demonstrators were throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails, and at least one person was killed in the clashes, according to local news reports.
July 1, 2022 – Russian rockets have hit an apartment building and recreation centers in the Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa. Authorities said at least 19 people have died, including two children. Regional authorities said the attack occurred before dawn, and most of the dead were asleep in the nine-story apartment building, which has partially collapsed.
Search and rescue operations are underway for people trapped under the rubble, with at least 41 people evacuated so far. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and lawmakers in parliament stood for a minute of silence for those killed.
July 19, 2022 – Ukraine authorities say a Russian missile attack on the southern city of Odesa has injured at least six people, including a child. A spokesman for the local military administration said Russian forces fired at least seven cruise missiles from the Black Sea, hitting residential areas and destroying several homes. Odesa is home to Ukraine’s biggest port, and is crucial to exporting desperately needed grain to the rest of the world. Some 22 million tons of grain remain stuck there because of the fighting. Why is Russia intensifying attacks on Ukraine’s key port cities?
July 23, 2022 – Thirteen Russian missiles have hit Ukraine’s central Kirovohrad region, according to the local governor. Fitch and Scope have downgraded Ukraine’s ratings after the war-ravaged country requested a debt payment freeze.
July 23, 2022 – A UN-brokered deal to restart grain exports out of Ukraine appears in jeopardy. Just a day after the landmark agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine, Kyiv’s officials say Russian missiles have struck the key port of Odesa. It was hoped that the agreement to open a Russian blockade would alleviate a global food crisis. But the reported attack cements Ukraine’s warnings that Russia wouldn’t keep its promises.
February 23, 2023 – A year ago, inhabitants of Odesa were preparing for the arrival of Russian ships on the city’s coast. Although Moscow didn’t end up seizing the city, it has succeeded in heavily reducing the port’s activities, which are regarded as the seaside resort’s ‘economic lungs’ on the Black Sea. The tourists are no longer coming, and the daily lives of inhabitants that stayed on now beat to the rhythm of air-raid sirens and power cuts. A report from southern Ukraine’s port city.
July 18, 2023 – Russia launched an attack on the southern city of Odesa, Ukraine the second night in a row. A CNN team witnessed a sustained barrage from the air defense near the direction of the port. CNN’s Alex Marquardt describes what he saw and heard.
July 18, 2023 – Russia’s Defense Ministry has said that overnight attacks on the two port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv were “mass revenge strikes.” The strikes came a day after an attack on the Kerch Bridge linking Russia with Crimea, which Moscow blamed on Ukraine. Military analyst Sean Bell has stressed the overnight attack on Odesa “renews the worry” that Russia is again interested in having a land bridge all across the Black Sea.
July 20, 2023 – Russia has said any ships travelling to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports will be seen as possibly carrying military cargo. Defense and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke says Moscow’s threat is “ridiculous” and that “no one believes it” – but says the motive is to play on the insurance industry which will see no ships sail towards Ukrainian Black Sea ports without damage coverage.
July 20, 2023 – Wheat prices have risen sharply on global markets after Russia said it would treat ships heading for Ukrainian ports as potential military targets. Moscow pulled out of a deal this week that had guaranteed safe passage for grain shipments through the Black Sea. A White House spokesperson accused Russia of planning to blame Ukraine for attacks on civilian ships. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said he would return to the grain agreement immediately if his demands were met.
July 20, 2023 – For the third night in a row, Russia has targeted airstrikes on Ukrainian ports in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions along the Black Sea. The ports were used to export Ukrainian grain to the global market until Russia withdrew from an agreement guaranteeing the safety of the ships carrying foodstuffs. As Russia is no longer a party to the Black Sea grain deal, the White House said Russian forces could attack civilian ships attempting to transport Ukrainian grain and attempt to place blame on Kyiv for such an attack.
July 20, 2023 – The Russians have launched drone and missile attacks against the port city of Odesa for three nights in a row. The Russians goal is to stop all export of Ukrainian agriculture and in-turn trigger a global famine and adversely affect food prices in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Prigozhin has also been seen again finally in a video speaking to his soldiers at a military camp in Belarus.
July 20, 2023 – The United States has expressed deep concern about Russia’s strikes on Ukraine’s Black Sea Ports, after a third straight day of attacks and indications that Moscow could take aim at civilian ships in the area. Kyiv has now responded in kind to a Russian threat to treat ships bound for Ukraine as potential enemy targets. Ukraine will also consider vessels travelling to Russian ports or Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory to be potentially carrying arms. Both developments follow a decision by the Kremlin earlier this week to allow a deal on the export of grain via the Black Sea to expire. The UN Security Council will meet Friday to address the humanitarian consequences of Russia’s withdrawal from the deal.
July 20, 2023 – Mark Esper, former Defense Secretary under President Donald Trump, joins CNN’s Kaitlan Collins to discuss Russian strikes in the southern city of Odesa, Ukraine.
July 25, 2023 – Russia continues their nightly attacks on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa as well as other port cities for Ukrainian agricultural exports. Ukraine again successfully launched a coordinate drone attack on the city of Moscow. Russia is also attempting to go on the offensive in the Luhansk region to show their people they can still make progress on the battlefield.
July 26, 2023 – A Russian missile hit a church in Odesa. Why would Russia attack a church with missiles? The Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, Ukraine is a UN landmark. Did the Russians mean to hit the church? I explain why Russia hit the church with a missile. The Russians deny firing a missile at the church, but someone fired a missile. The Ukrainians don’t have the right type of missile that can do this kind of damage. We will examine the damage from the missile attack and examine alternative theories to see how the missile damaged the church.